Close-Up Talk Radio Spotlights Ellie Blair of Ellie Pots Inc.

Lawrence, KS – In the creative world, most people yearn for perfection. For many artists, it takes time to hone their craft to the point of their own personal acceptance. This rings true for Ellie Blair, award-winning crystalline pottery maker and founder of Ellie Pots Inc.

Though Ellie began working with ceramics in 1975, the duties of life and family called upon her as she continued to craft this passion for creation. She spent from 1980 until 1999 working in the landscape industry. The last ten years she ran 85 greenhouses and was the nursery stock propagator. She jokingly claims she “traded one form of mud for another because she still has her hands in the dirt.”  Her true artistic calling would finally be found in the art of crystalline pottery and she achieved her lifelong dream by receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts from The University of Kansas in 2002.

Upon completing her studies, Ellie hit the ground running with her work and founded Blair Pottery. “Kiln in the living room and the wheel in the basement,” Ellie explains about her process and how her husband built a wonderful studio for her in a beautiful spot away from the house. She felt the need to leave her house and go to her studio. “ I felt like I was really going to work that way.”

Every piece Ellie creates has been crafted in her home-based studio. She is a one-woman show competing against much larger pottery production plants. “Their process is the same as mine only they have about 50 people to carry out the different tasks, this allows them to crank out a lot more products. I’m going to make my work exact, precise, and as perfect as it can be. I believe in making one-of-a-kind products. No duplicates. If it’s not perfect it’s not sold.” She also has a lot of different glazes. This is an area where she likes to experiment.

Perfectionism can pay off. In 2010, Ellie officially changed the company name to Ellie Pots Inc., and her work available via website www.elliepottsinc.com, started receiving orders from all across the country. Multiple galleries have featured her work including Abbey Lane Gallery in Creede, Colorado, and The Phoenix Gallery at her hometown of Lawrence, Kansas. Ellie is being further honored this year by being one of the recipients of the Orton Cone Box Show Award presented by the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. “This is truly an honor for me and I am so appreciative,” Ellie exclaims.

The future holds bright for Ellie Pots Inc. and the award-winning piece will be on display in Houston, Texas by March of 2013. Ellie is currently working on a new line of ornaments and decorative pieces for the upcoming holidays.

Close-Up Talk Radio will feature Ellie Pots Inc. in a two-part interview with Doug Llewelyn on October 2^nd and October 9^th.  Both shows will air at 11am on their respective dates. For more information about Ellie Pots Inc. visit www.elliepotsinc.com.