FACULTY PROFILE
Penn State Ceramics / Faculty
CHRIS STALEY / Distinguished Professor of Art
Chris Staley is an artist based out of State College, PA. He has been a Professor of Ceramic Art at Penn State University since 1990. He received his MFA from Alfred University and his BFA from Wittenberg University. Staley has shown his work across the United States, including at Museum of Contemporary Crafts, Santa Fe Clay Gallery, and Garth Clark Gallery. He has been artist in residence at FuLe International Ceramic Art Museum, EKWC and the Archie Bray Foundation. Staley has previously served as President of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (2016-18), on the Board of Directors for Haystack Mountain School of Crafts (2005-14 and on the Advisory Board for Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts (1991-94).
“The essence of making pots for me is about being human. It’s about fragility and strength. It’s about the intimate moment when the handle of a cup touches the hand. Pots are about potential. Pots can create a world of slow-time where meaning can be found. It is a notable experience to use pots that exude the soul of the maker. All of our senses are engaged in this experience. Very few things can be touched and leave one a different person. It is the paradox of who is touching whom that gives pots their greatest potential.”
SHANNON GOFF / Associate Professor of Art
Shannon Goff hails from the Motor City, receiving her BFA from the University of Michigan in 1996 and her MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art 2003. She has been the recipient of a Japanese Monbusho grant and twice awarded residencies to the John Michael Kohler Arts/Industry program. Shannon has received research grants from the College of Arts & Architecture and the Institute of Arts & Humanities at Penn State in 2013–14 for her recent project, “Miles To Empty.” In 2017, she received a United States Artist Fellowship nomination. Her work has recently been included in exhibitions at the Knockdown Center in Queens, NY, Susanne Hilberry Gallery in Ferndale, MI, Printed Matter in NYC, the San Jose Museum of Art, UC-Northridge, and in Beijing, Berlin, Chicago, and Australia. Recent reviews of her work have been featured in Hyperallergic, DesignBoom, Colossal, FastCoDesign, and Cfile. She is an associate professor of Sculpture and Ceramics at Penn State University. Prior to her appointment, she taught at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Cranbrook Academy of Art, and The Rhode Island School of Design.
TOM LAUERMAN / Associate Professor of Art
Tom Lauerman works within the overlap of sculpture, craft, and design. His objects, drawings, and installations explore the emotional capacities of constructed spaces as a visual, tactile, and visceral experience. In the studio, Tom seeks to synthesize digital fabrication strategies and traditional craft techniques.
Tom received an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BFA from SMU Meadows School of Art. His work has been exhibited widely including recent exhibitions in Boston, Berlin, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Chicago. He has taken part in a number of Artist Residencies including the ClayArch Gimhae Museum in South Korea, the Kohler Arts/Industry residency, and Pilchuck Glass School. He is a recipient of grants and awards from the National Scence Foundation, Museum of Arts and Design in New York, and the Illinois Arts Council. Prior to his arrival at Penn State University in 2011, Tom taught at a number of institutions including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and SMU Meadows School of Art.
KRIS GREY / Visiting Artist, Assistant Teaching Professor of Art
Kris Grey is a New York City based transgender artist who uses their body as raw material, often presenting themselves in states of extreme vulnerability as an invitation to experience transcendence or discover hidden queer histories. Grey’s cultural work includes curatorial projects, performance, writing, and studio production in ceramics. Grey has been a resident artist at the Bronx Museum, Fire Island Artist Residency, ANTI Festival for Contemporary Art, International Centre for Training in the Performing Arts, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tucson, and is currently a Visiting Artist and Assistant Teaching Professor at Penn State University through 2021. Grey earned a Bachelor of Fine Art from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Ceramics and a Master's Degree in Fine Art from Ohio University in Ceramics. They perform, teach, and exhibit work internationally.
ANDREW CASTANEDA / Adjunct Instructor of Art
Andrew Castaneda grew up in sunny California. He graduated from Pennsylvania State University with his MFA. His work is spontaneous and half the time he doesn’t even know what he doing. His openness to new ideas, material and techniques help keep his work fresh. Andrew is in two private collections The American Museum of Ceramic Arts at Pomona, CA and the Kansas City Art Institute Teaching Collection. Andrew likes to travel and get lost in other environments. He loves meeting new people, places and materials. He finds inspiration in the most minute details.