Artaxis Fellowship

The Call for Applicants for the 9th annual Artaxis Fellowship closed on Dec. 22nd, 2024. Stay tuned to our social media accounts for the announcement of the recipients in February. This year, we will again be offering two fellowships. Each one is worth up to $2,691 to fund a two-week summer workshop at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine, USA. The fellowships will cover room, board, and tuition for a two-week workshop, and an extra stipend for up to $500 in expenses. The Fellowship is intended to increase diversity, equity, and access across the field of the ceramic arts. In particular, attention will be paid to race, gender, and socio-economic status, with unique circumstances such as wartime military service, medical conditions, and unconventional family structures also considered. Therefore, Artaxis encourages artists of diverse backgrounds and experiences to apply. The 2025 Fellowship Selection Committee is comprised of: Didem Mert, Donte Hayes, and George Rodriguez. After an initial round of reviews by the Artaxis Board of Directors, our distinguished Fellowship Selection Committee will choose the final recipients for the 2025 Fellowship.

Eligibility:

Artists 18 years of age or older, at any stage of their career. Applicant does not need to be a student.
Applicant can not be an Artaxis member. If you have already been accepted to Artaxis, you are not eligible for the fellowship.
Artists must demonstrate financial need in their letter of intent.
The Fellowship is designed to offer an experience that would otherwise not be possible for the applicant; priority will be given to applicants with less experience in workshops, residencies, or similar opportunities.
This Fellowship is open to US-based and international applicants. Artaxis will provide international applicants with letters of invitation, but cannot offer additional funding or support with acquiring a visa.
Artaxis often asks Fellows to be involved in programming to help promote the fellow, their work, and the Artaxis Fellowship. If selected for the Fellowship, you agree to be involved when asked.
You agree to complete a fellowship report within 30 days after the workshop.

The 2025 Artaxis Fellowship is supported by Artaxis members and funded by Haystack Mountain School of Crafts to nurture talent within creatively driven individuals by offering financial support to underrepresented artists.

If you have any questions, please email us at contactartaxis@gmail.com.

Photo credit: Amanda Kowalski

Aerial view of Haystack campus. (image by Chris Maddox)

Meet our 2025 Artaxis Fellowship Selection Committee:

Didem Mert

Didem Mert (she/they) was born and raised in Cincinnati, OH. Mert received their BFA (ceramics) from Northern Kentucky University in 2014 and MFA (ceramics) from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in 2017. Mert has exhibited nationally in places such as The Clay Studio, AKAR, The Archie Bray Gallery, The Erie Art Museum, and over forty other venues. They were featured on the cover of Pottery Making Illustrated’s January/February 2016 issue. Mert was included on CFile’s list of 15 Potters to Watch in 2016 and Architectural Digest’s 10 Ceramic Artists Giving Pottery A Modern Update. They were one of Ceramics Monthly’s Emerging Artists of 2018. Mert was a summer resident at the Archie Bray Foundation in 2018 and a visiting artist in 2024. Didem currently lives in Sebastopol, CA, and works as a full-time studio potter and workshop instructor.

Donté K. Hayes

Donté K. Hayes graduated summa cum laude from Kennesaw State University in Georgia with a BFA in Ceramics and Printmaking with an Art History minor. Donté received his MA and MFA with honors from the University of Iowa and is the 2017 recipient of the University of Iowa Arts Fellowship. Donté has been awarded residencies at MacDowell, Bemis Center, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Penland, Township 10 and Watershed. His work is included in the permanent collections of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Minnesota Museum of American Art, Newark Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Stanley Museum of Art and Crocker Art Museum, among others. Donté is a 2019 Ceramics Monthly Magazine Emerging Artists and an Artaxis Fellow.

George Rodriguez

Born and raised in the border city of El Paso, TX, George Rodriguez creates highly ornamented, ceramic sculptures. His guardian figures, tomb sculptures, and installations, commemorate and build community. Recent projects include a permanent installation at the new Kansas City International Airport and an outdoor public sculpture at CASA of Maryland, an immigration advocacy organization in Baltimore. His sculptures are part of the collections of the National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL; Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C., and the National Museum in Stockholm, Sweden. Rodriguez holds a BFA from the University of Texas El Paso and an MFA from the University of Washington, Seattle. He is an Assistant Professor at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture in Philadelphia.

Click here to learn more about Haystack

The 2025 Artaxis Fellowship is generously supported by Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.

Haystack Mountain School of Crafts is an international craft school located on the Atlantic Ocean in Deer Isle, Maine.

Haystack connects people through craft. Located on the coast of Maine and founded in 1950 as a research and studio program in the arts, Haystack provides the freedom to engage with materials and develop new ideas in a supportive and inclusive community. The School offers intensive studio-based workshops in a variety of media and also functions as a ‘think-tank’ in looking at craft—publishing monographs and organizing retreats and conferences that examine the field in broader contexts. The campus was designed by noted architect Edward Larrabee Barnes and was recognized with the Twenty-five Year Award by the American Institute of Architects, one of only fifty-three buildings in the U.S. to receive this distinction. Serving an ever-changing group of makers and thinkers, Haystack is dedicated to providing opportunities for individuals to work and learn alongside one another while exploring the intersections of craft, art, and design in broad and expansive ways.

“Coming here is a freeing experience — free from the world, free from conventional ways of teaching and most importantly free from the distractions that keep us from interacting with new people.” – Suranga DeSilva

“The experience is extraordinarily different, very intense. You know that you are on a voyage with other people for a defined time. This gives you the freedom to take risks.” – Cynthia Schira

“Participating in Session 5 last summer was one of the most wonderful experiences I have ever had. The community, setting, architecture, and focus of the group was truly inspiring. I came home with new ideas about, and new approaches to, my work that have sustained me all year.” – Warren Anderson

Meet 2024 Artaxis Fellow, Bianca Turner:

Bianca Turner, one of the 2024 Artaxis Fellows, completed a two week summer residency at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine during the summer of 2023.

Bianca Turner is a ceramic artist with a BFA in Ceramics from the University of Hartford. Currently, an artist in residence at the Worcester Center for Crafts Her multicultural background, influenced by Jamaican immigrant parents, fuels her passion for art, color, and transformative expression. For the past six years, she has immersed herself in the captivating world of ceramics, finding freedom in shaping and molding clay to visually convey emotions and ideas. Bianca’s sculpted pieces serve as vessels of connection, inviting viewers to embark on a sensory journey of interpretation and engagement. With a commitment to pushing artistic boundaries, she explores techniques, colors, and textures to foster unity and understanding within diverse communities. Through her vibrant and transformative creations, Bianca invites you to experience the convergence of art, color, and the expressive power of ceramics.

Learn more about Bianca here: https://www.biancatturner.com/work

Meet 2024 Artaxis Fellow, Jerrie Fabrigas:

Jerrie Fabrigas, one of the 2024 Artaxis Fellows, completed a two week summer residency at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine during the summer of 2024.

Jerrie Fabrigas is an artist from San Diego, California. Her work deals with the concept of “homeland” from the perspective of the diaspora and encompasses building mythologies, exploring spirituality, and dissecting the complexities of identity. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Art History from the University of California, Irvine, and her current research involves pre-Colonial Filipino mythology, weaponry, fashion, and body modification.

Learn more about Lucky here: https://www.instagram.com/zerii.fire/

Meet 2023 Artaxis Fellow, Lucky Moe:

Lucky Moe, one of the 2023 Artaxis Fellows, completed a two week summer residency at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine during the summer of 2023.

Lucky Moe is a Southeast Asian Ceramist from Rakhine, Burma. The style of her works is inspired by nostalgia for childhood memories from her time growing up in Burma. Lucky started her art career in Illustraton. Her process includes transforming her drawings into figurative sculptures to tell various stories from her life.

Learn more about Lucky here: https://luckymoe.myportfolio.com/

Meet 2023 Artaxis Fellow, Alvaro Villa:

Alvaro Villa, one of the 2023 Artaxis Fellows, completed a two week summer residency at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine during the summer of 2023.

Alvaro Villa describes his creative practice as a form of magic. He is a Dallas, Texas based multidisciplinary artist whose work focuses primarily in working with the figure and familiar objects in ceramics. His work branches across different modes of art making from painting, sculpture, and performance art, all stemming from the ability to take his energy and ideas of spirituality, witchcraft/brujeria, astrology, tarot, and his memories and experiences through the lens of his queer and Latino identity into manifested reality. He recently graduated from the University of North Texas where he earned his three degrees in Studio Art with a concentration in Ceramics, Sculpture and Drawing & Painting, as well as a minor in Art History.

Learn more about Alvaro on his Instagram account here: https://instagram.com/alvarovillaart/

Meet 2022 Artaxis Fellow, Jayne King:

Jayne King, one of the 2022 Artaxis Fellows, completed a two week summer residency at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine during the summer of 2022.

Jayne King is a Chicago-born Jewish artist in their last semester of undergraduate study at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where they’ve spent their time focusing on ceramics, object collection, and book making. Their ceramic studio practice aims to ask questions about the nature of memory, the haunted space, and the chain of living connection through the reconsideration of the heirloom porcelain object. The goal of the work is to explore the intersections between the human desire to safeguard personal narrative and nostalgia, the history of ceramic objects as vessels for storage and preservation, and the ways in which Jewish tradition informs how King has come to understand their relationship to their ancestor’s past and the consequential present. They are graduating from SAIC’s BFA program in May 2022, and are currently a resident artist at The Digs Chicago.

Learn more about Jayne here: https://www.jaynemarieking.com/

Meet 2022 Artaxis Fellow, Eugene Ofori Agyei:

Eugene Ofori Agyei, one of the 2022 Artaxis Fellows, completed a two week summer residency at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine during the summer of 2022.

Eugene Ofori Agyei (1993) is a ceramic sculptor, fiber and installation artist and an educator originally from Ghana living in Gainesville, Florida. He graduated from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana with a BA in Industrial Art, majoring in Ceramics in 2018. Prior to his MFA at the University of Florida, he was assigned as teaching and research assistant in the same school where he received his BA for one year. Eugene is the 2020/2021 recipient of the University of Florida Grinter Fellowship award and 2022 Artaxis Fellowship award.

Learn more about Eugene here: https://eugeneagyeiarts.com/

Meet 2020 Artaxis Fellow, Nyasha Madamombe:

Nyasha Madamombe, a boundary-breaking interdisciplinary artist, combines tradition and technology to tell the untold story of the collective African experience. The ability to move between disciplines allows her to examine and spotlight issues related to collective memory, tradition, the spiritual and the modern with flexibility. Nyasha’s work has been exhibited internationally, including at the National Art Gallery in the Zimbabwean capital Harare, in Johannesburg, Tennessee, Louisiana and Michigan to wide acclaim. She is a recipient of the 2020 Artaxis Fellowship and the 2021 NCECA Multicultural Fellowship. Nyasha received her Master of Fine Arts at the University of Tennessee Knoxville and her Bachelor of Fine Arts, with a concentration in Stone Sculpture, at the Chinhoyi University of Technology in Zimbabwe. Nyasha is based in Brooklyn, New York.

Learn more about Nyasha here: https://nyashamadamombe.com/

Meet 2020 Artaxis Fellow, Nicole McLaughlin:

Nicole McLaughlin was born and raised in Massachusetts but spent much of her early childhood in Mexico. As a first generation Mexican-American, she is heavily influenced by her multicultural upbringing and her childhood memories of visiting her mother’s home town of Cuernavaca, Mexico. Nicole received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Kansas City Art Institute in Kansas City, MO. She has exhibited nationally, internationally, and has work in several private collections. Currently, she serves as the Ceramics Teaching Fellow at Tabor Academy in Marion, MA. Nicole continues to draw inspiration from Mexican ceramics, textiles, and cultural traditions in hopes of showing how her life has been shaped by a collision of two cultures.

Learn more about Nicole here: https://www.nicoleamclaughlin.com/

Artaxis Conversations with Nyasha Madamombe and Nicole McLaughlin:

Listen to an Artaxis Conversations interview with Artaxis Board President, Bobby Tso and our 2020 Artaxis Fellows, Nyasha Madamombe and Nicole McLaughlin.

Meet 2019 Artaxis Fellow, Moises Salazar:

Moises Salazar, one of the 2019 Artaxis Fellows, completed a two week summer residency at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine.

Moises Salazar is a non-binary queer artist from in Chicago. They currently attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago Undergraduate Program were they primarily focus in ceramic sculpture and painting. Being born queer and to immigrant parents has cemented a conflict within Moises Salazar’s political identity, which is the conceptual focus of their practice. The work of Moises Salazar is meant to to showcase the trauma, history, and current state that undocumented immigrants and queer folk face. It is by examining the intersections of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, queerness and the United States history that Moises Salazar addresses the reality of the barriers that immigrants and queer individuals face with the intention to begin to dismantle the myths and stereotypes used to criminalize and dehumanize them.

Learn more about Moises Salazar and their work here: https://www.moisessalazar.com/

Meet 2019 Artaxis Fellow, Donté Hayes:

Donté Hayes, one of the 2018 Artaxis Fellows, completed a two week summer residency at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine.

The opportunity to attend Haystack Mountain School of Crafts would not have been possible without Artaxis and Haystack creating this fellowship. The beautiful and magical surroundings at Haystack inspires you to enjoy nature and be intune with your creative soul. I had the pleasure of participating during Linda Lopez colored porcelain workshop. The workshop took my artwork outside of my comfort zone and allowed me to explore and experiment without criticism. The community in the workshop was so positive and pushed you to think differently about your work and to engage with your fellow artists. Everyday I was inspired by visiting the other studios and the powerful conversations during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Haystack is truly a magical place. Thank you Artaxis and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts for welcome me home.

Learn more about Donté Hayes here: https://dontekhayes.com/

Meet 2018 Artaxis Fellow, Raven Halfmoon:

Raven Halfmoon portrait for Artaxis Fellowship page

Raven Halfmoon, one of the 2018 Artaxis Fellows, completed a two week summer residency at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine.

I have been focused on producing a body of work that reflects how I feel both as a woman and an American Indian living in the 21st Century. In this body of work, I strive to illustrate how I feel about the ancient legacy of my heritage while at the same time acknowledge the modern day and age. Each piece reflects my understanding and interpretation of Caddo tribal culture and the fight to maintain a place for it in today’s world. With my work, I hope to create awareness and address issues that affect people who share a similar story. Through my installations, I hope to tell a story both of how one understands self and culture, but also what defines these ideals in America today.

Learn more about Raven Halfmoon and her work here: http://www.ravenhalfmoon.com/

Meet 2018 Artaxis Fellow, Kathy Garcia:

Kathy Garcia portrait for Artaxis Fellowship page

Kathy Garcia, one of the 2018 Artaxis Fellows, completed a two week summer residency at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine.

In Mexican culture, there is one thing that is cherished above everything, and that is familia. With these thoughts in mind, I have always had a great admiration for the adults in my familia and the struggles they had to face, whether that be living under hardship in Mexico or making the difficult choice of immigrating to the United States. I strive to show this respect for my elders through my work, sometimes being as simple as a portrait of them. This workshop was a great next step for me to continue learning and improving. This fellowship truly helped me challenge and develop my work further.

Learn more about Kathy Garcia and her work here: http://www.kathy-garcia.com/

Meet 2017 Artaxis Fellow, Soe Yu Nwe:

Soe Yu Nwe working at Haystack

Soe Yu Nwe, the 2017 Artaxis Fellow, completed a two week summer residency at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine.

Participating at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts as an Artaxis Fellow has enriched my experience as a maker. I started exploring new ways of making, creating forms which are outside my body of work. The creative and supportive environment during the workshop led by Ann Agee and the stunning landscape of Maine inspired a new aesthetic. My work became more playful and light hearted, deviating from the previous pain-ridden sculptures that narrate alienation and confusion as a cultural outsider. Because of this fellowship, the financial burden placed on me to pursue my artistic career was reduced and I was able to fly from my home country, Myanmar to USA to participate in this amazing workshop at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.

Learn more about Soe Yu Nwe and her work here: https://www.soeyunwe.com/

Meet 2016 Artaxis Fellow, Natalia Arbalaez:

Natalia Arbelaez working at Watershed

Natalia Arbelaez, the 2016 Inaugural Artaxis Fellow, completed a two week summer residency at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, Maine.

“I came to Watershed with no plans, no material, and some tools. I was looking to change things up in my work and wanted to make sure I tried new things. This fellowship allowed me to be surrounded by new ideas, different materials, and resources. With an open mind and new environment I had the opportunity to work with Watershed’s beautiful racked hillside earthenware brick clay. Working with the materials and manner that I did at Watershed was an invaluable asset to my studio practice, it has informed my work as well as added a new dialogue that I’ve been looking to add to my body of work.” — Natalia Arbalaez

Learn more about Natalia and her work here: http://nataliaarbelaez.com/