Leah Bowring (now Pollock, Oct 13, 2019) received her BA in ceramics and BFA in graphic design from Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri in 2011. During her undergraduate study, she spent a year in Tokyo studying Japanese language, historical ceramics, traditional theater and architecture. She was a pupil of Koiichi Koyama, an accomplished Japanese potter under whom she developed Japanese throwing techniques. She conducted personal research studying traditional Japanese kilns and wares, traveling throughout Japan while she taught English in the time between her formal degrees. After obtaining her MFA in Ceramics at the University of Missouri in 2015, she taught her craft in California and served as Operations Manager for The Potters’ Studio, successfully transitioning it to a non-profit during the Covid-19 period. Leah played a crucial role in the studio’s expansion, increasing its capacity to serve over 500 people and generating over $1.4 million in revenue. She pioneered BIPOC and Young Artist scholarships, granting 35 individuals free studio access and workshop attendance annually.
Upon graduation she lived in the bay area from 2015-2021. In addition to managing a large scale ceramic studio, she also taught at California College of the Arts, City College of San Franciso, and Laney College in Oakland, CA. She has worked on projects through Piece of Clay, Co. such as commissions to Michelin star restaurants at Sons & Daughters, designed ceramic furniture in collaboration with West Elm for their new Oakland hotel, and she has been featured in Architectural Digest three times.
She now teaches ceramics at the University of Arkansas School of Art in Fayetteville, AR and resides in Bella Vista, AR. Her studio practice includes large scale custom murals, modular tile work, vessel and abstract sculpture and occasional small batch soda-fired porcelain domestic pottery.