ARTS & CULTURE
Written and photographed by Marta Churchwell
A whimsical otter on a roller skate repurposed into a vehicle is among the sculptures that have earned Brae solo exhibits in several galleries . Photo courtesy of Angel Brame .
A MOST PROLIFIC POTTER
Angel Brame displays one of her platters in her home studio in Joplin
More than two tons of clay .
That ’ s what ceramist Angel Brame estimates she used last year to create 1,600 pieces of functional pottery and sculptures that went to competitive exhibits , galleries and gift shops around the country .
You can find her work as far away as Illinois , Iowa , Nevada , Connecticut , New York and Florida .
A self-described overachiever , Brame is possibly the area ’ s most prolific potter in terms of the number of competitions , exhibits , galleries and retail shops she ’ s gotten her work into .
“ It ’ s just that personal challenge of doing something other than production pieces ,” says Brame , who works out of her studio , Dragon Flies and Mud Pottery in Joplin . “ It gets me thinking outside the box . It re-energizes me and gives me a push .”
Her most recent creations of whimsical creatures in various modes of transportation have been drawing attention far and wide . They are part of two series , titled “ Re-Purpose , Re-Engineer , Re-Locate .”
She first started the fanciful critters in 2017 as part of a personal challenge of creating one vintage style creature a day , going through the alphabet to create names for them . That expanded into creating vehicles for her critters to drive , all the creatures wearing goggles . The vehicles are created from clay combined with repurposed objects like a camera , telephone , typewriter or roller skate .
“ They ’ re proof that I watched too many Muppets as a child ,” she jokes . “ I ’ m making no statements with these critters . I just want people to walk away thinking how whimsical , how fun .”
The uniqueness of these series of creations has earned Brame solo exhibits at Alton and Belleville , Illinois ; St . Louis , Columbia , Spiva Center for the Arts in Joplin and , most recently , Pittsburg ( Kansas ) State University . They ’ ve also been in group exhibits that won her awards . Between those awards and those given for her functional pieces , she ’ s earned 24 awards from honorable mention to first place throughout her pottery career .
Brame earned an associate degree in fine art but got detoured from using that degree when she pursued a degree in human resources , a career she pursued for several years . Later , she returned to college to earn a bachelor ’ s degree in studio art with an emphasis in ceramics .
She ’ s been a professional potter since 2012 , having earned her way into more than 130 competitive and solo exhibits , one of them leading to an invitation
32 JOPLIN MAGAZINE | APRIL / MAY