Consider what you'd need to get started: a tent, walls, and shelves. A year's worth of application and booth fees. A deep inventory of salable work. The supplies and time to create that work. Health insurance, weather insurance, food, and rent. All this, in addition to talent. We're fortunate anyone makes art. New artists need a break, which is why we've introduced our Emerging Artists program.

Through the Emerging Artists program, student artists and underrepresented artists are given the opportunity to sell their work alongside the festival's slate of professional exhibitors. Marion Arts Festival covers the booth & application fees. Up to three artists will be selected from the community.

Applicants must be 18+, living in Iowa and actively seeking a career in the arts. We recognize there are many pathways to becoming a professional working artist and encourage anyone to apply.

Application deadline: Friday, March 8th
Application notification date: Friday, March 15th

Applications now open!

Past Emerging Artists

Jennifer Hatch / Ceramics / Iowa Ceramics Center

Website / Facebook / Instagram

Artist statement:

Though interested in a number of art fields, I am particularly drawn to ceramics because this medium allows me to incorporate elements that I love from other media, including painting, sculpture, drawing, and design. The predominant emphasis of my work is experimentation with decoration.

            My work focuses on combining a wide range of functional pieces with different types of decoration: texturing, impressing, glazing, glass, sgraffito, slip trailing, and carving. I often use slip trailing or carve swirling, whimsical designs on wet pieces. Sometimes I use slip in a more abstract way: slowly turning a wet piece on the throwing wheel, then dripping or pouring slip onto it. Similarly, I use this method and other abstract techniques for glazing – dripping, dipping, splattering, and pooling.

            Many of my decorative motifs originate as experiments; textures and impressions are my way of playing with design. My slip trailing and carvings reflect elements from my sketchbook: flowing, abstract, and unpredictable. A swirling motif is my favorite design because I do it naturally when I doodle. Much of my work is inspired by nature, so it tends to be organic in design. I carve organic, possible flame, shaped holes to make my berry bowls and lanterns.

           Although I practice all of these decorative techniques, my present focus is on carving and slip or glaze trailing. As with any art form, my pottery changes as it reflects the vision and nature of me as an individual artist.


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Mitchell Hilzer / Ceramics / Iowa Ceramics Center

Artist statement:

As a vessel maker I am interested in making functional pieces that are intended for use and display. The functionality of the vessel, the decoration of the surface and the aesthetic of the form are all equally important. I want my pots to bring a sense of fulfillment from their utility and a sense of intrigue when not in use. Formal decisions are based on my interest in historical objects. I am drawn to their surface, the volume, and their intended use for utility or ritual.

I pay close attention to the silhouette, curve, balance, relation, arrangement, and proportion of my work. A surface that reflects the passing of time, a form that demands a presence and a sense of purpose are attributes I try to obtain. Volume and containment are very important aspects of my work. All of the vessels I create are made with the intention to contain. Whether it is used for the serving of food, storage or holding something more abstract, they are always made with that intent. My vessels are not only for utility but can also serve as a metaphor for what they represent or hold.


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Madalyn Loring / Ceramics / Iowa Ceramics Center

Artist statement:

I am interested in the themes of the formation and breakup of relationships through organic and textural ceramic forms. These ideas are expressed through abstract ideas about relationships between the ceramic forms, while they personify my experiences in relationships. I explore how the relationships of my ceramic objects interact with each other through balance, rest, and creating a whole. My work is an imaginative take on nature while referring to plant and floral-like forms. I enjoy creating these abstract and unknown forms, because of the fun processes and endless ideas. I use slab, pinch, coil, and the potter's wheel to sculpt my work. I create my own chocolate red clay-body for my low-fire work and I fire my pieces using electric and Raku firing processes.