Emily Bayless

Assistant Professor
FPA 130A
956.326.2658
emily.bayless@tamiu.edu

Courses: Ceramics

Emily Bayless (b. 1988) is an artist who works primarily in clay to pursue the making of installation and objects. She received a BFA in ceramics from Arizona State University and an MFA in ceramics from the University of Colorado Boulder, and has expertise in hand building, wheel throwing, mold making, sculptural installation, kiln firing techniques, and surface decoration techniques.

Bayless has been a guest lecturer at many institutions, including New Mexico State University, San Francisco Art Institute, Dickinson College, and Adams State University. Her work has been exhibited in museums and galleries, such as the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Diego Rivera Gallery of SFAI, Baltimore Clay Works, Susquehanna Art Museum, and the Glave Kocen Gallery.

The main areas of interest that currently preoccupy her studio research practice are the history of ceramics, gender equity, craft, and installation. Her work challenges the technical threshold of clay with pieces that are precarious, fragile, and stretch the stable scale of ceramic objects. Most recently Bayless completed a ceramic arch that contains 32 stacking pieces, culminating in an eight-foot-tall sculptural installation finished with a blue and white decorative motif that imitates the delft style of the 17th and 18th century.