Biophilia Solo Exhibition at the Le Mars Arts Center is Open!

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Happy New Year! As I posted about once before, I have a solo show at the Le Mars Arts Center - Biophilia opened yesterday, and will run through February 26, 2026. The Le Mars Art Center is located at 200 Central Avenue South, Le Mars, IA 51031. We now have reception info to share as well!

My Biophilia art show reception will be on Thursday, January 15th from 5-7pm.

The art center’s overall business hours are:
Tuesday 01:00 pm - 05:00 pm
Wednesday 01:00 pm - 05:00 pm
Thursday 01:00 pm - 07:00 pm
Friday 01:00 pm - 05:00 pm
Saturday 10:00 am - 04:00 pm
Closed Sundays & Mondays

Mason Stained, Ferric Chloride Saggar Raku Ceramics

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Bisqued pottery ready for the workshop!

Here are the Mason stained, ferric chloride dipped, and saggar fired pottery resulting from my fall workshop! I used three different Mason stains: chartreuse, jade green, and dark teal. I mixed the stains with terra sigillata and applied them in a variety of ways (brush, sponge, scraper). I was purposely going for choppier, sectioned out applications of the Mason stain this workshop to compliment the choppy, random ferric chloride saggar markmaking. (I previously experimented with all-over solid dark teal in varying terra sigillata tints.) To the right is an image of all the bisqued pieces for awaiting ferric chloride dipping for this workshop.

After applying the ferric chloride, I did use a combination of sugar, copper mesh, copper wire, and/or Muehlenbeckia axillaris aka Creeping Wire Vine to contribute additional texture/carbonization, and then wrapped the pieces up in aluminum foil.

First, a large bowl:

Next, a squat vase:

This is a taller, medium-sized bowl:

A sideways-opening orb - I think it’s one of those pieces that doesn’t photograph as well, so it’s significantly cooler in person:

Finally, my favorite piece (mostly due to the finish, but I also like the shape). However, it unfortunately blew off an outer side piece of exterior as well as a piece off the bottom in the stressful firing and cooling process. Since it’s raku anyway (meaning it’s not food-safe or watertight even when undamaged), it’s less important when a piece is damaged. Luckily neither of these blown-off spots went all the way through the ceramic body or caused cracks to the body itself, so they’re just cosmetic and the ceramic itself is still sturdy. I decided to try a kintsugi-inspired repair for the side wall, and just put a foam furniture foot in the bottom cavity for added stability.

If you want to see a clearer detail shot on the kintsugi-inspired repair, here you go! I used a combination of super glue, gold mica powder, a little spackle, and quinacridone / nickel azo gold paint to achieve this repair. I initially had planned on just using super glue and gold powder, but the gold wasn’t showing up as much as I wanted and there was still a bit of unevenness to the edge so I added the spackle and paint to smooth it out and deepen the color.

Again, since the blown-out section was shallow enough, it did not require repair on the interior side.

As you may know, real kintsugi is a much more laborious, toxic process (I did one of the steps in a workshop in Japan in 2024) that when done correctly ensures food-safe results to originally food-safe ware; to my mind it is overkill for non-food-safe rakuware.

Mason Stained, Burnished Obvara Raku Pottery

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At this most recent raku workshop I attended in late October 2025, I experimented with Mason stains in several ways. For the obvara, I did two burnished pieces with very light mason stains. I think it mostly worked well, but the obvara carbonization had a somewhat difficult time really gripping onto the surface, so I think next time I might not burnish and see how that goes.

Here is the first ceramic piece, a burnished oval bowl I did a large polka dot pastel pattern on with small amounts of teal and chartreuse Mason stains mixed into terra sigillata:

Here is the second, a burnished round bowl with a small amount of teal Mason stain mixed into terra sigillata:

Haemanthus Deformis in Flower!

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It’s been quite a while since I posted anything about my houseplants, and given that Sioux City’s been getting snowy, frigid weather this past week, it feels timely to take a look at a beautiful flower and urge on spring’s arrival!

As you may recall, I have two Haemanthus deformis bulbs in a single pot. It’s a very striking and unusual plant. I believe my bulbs are both approximately seven years old, and they have flowered before. So far they’ve not flowered at the same time, such that I’ve been unable to attempt pollination. Hopefully someday! While there are haemanthus species that are relatively quick to offset, H. deformis is not, so getting viable seeds would be an exciting development.

Right now, one of my H. deformis has been blooming for a couple of weeks! The flower is very low in the plant, which is not atypical though there are images online of some with higher peduncles (and greater age can play a role in that as well). The bulb that is blooming is letting its old leaves die back while focusing on its flower, but will then grow a new pair of leaves (you can see the beginning of one to the right of the bloom)!.

If you’re curious about their care, they spend the warm weather outside in light shade (usually early May through early October), and come inside for the colder seasons where they bask under grow lights. They get watered once every week or two, occasionally with weak fertilizer.

Most haemanthus are deciduous, but H. deformis is one of the evergreen species. I keep four haemanthus species at present, and it’s a 50-50 split between deciduous and evergreen in my collection. Of those four, this species is my favorite! I love its outrageous leaves; they usually fully cover the whole top of the pot, so to water I have to gently lift a leaf up to sneak the watering can spout in beneath it!

Upcoming: Biophilia Solo Exhibition at the Le Mars Arts Center

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I have a solo show coming up at the Le Mars Arts Center! Biophilia will run January 2 - February 26, 2026. The Le Mars Art Center is located at 200 Central Avenue South, Le Mars, IA 51031.

Their business hours are:
Tuesday 01:00 pm - 05:00 pm
Wednesday 01:00 pm - 05:00 pm
Thursday 01:00 pm - 07:00 pm
Friday 01:00 pm - 05:00 pm
Saturday 10:00 am - 04:00 pm
Closed Sundays & Mondays

I’ll let you know once we have selected a reception date and time!

Japanese Site-Specific Pottery!

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While I was in Japan this summer, I visited a number of important ceramic-production locations (Shigaraki, Imari, Arita, and Karatsu). I’d wanted to make ceramics during my first Arts Itoya residency, but the firing timings did not align with a one-month stay; for my second I was there for even less time due to my Kyoto solo show so I knew it couldn’t happen.

However, on this second trip I bought a small quantity of Shigaraki clay (Shigaraki is one of the six ancient kilns of Japan) and gathered volcanic ash (with the permission of my tour guide) outside of a shrine on Mount Aso. I brought these materials back with me, and made a couple of pieces!

My hope had been that the Shigaraki clay I purchased had the feldspar inclusions that lead to a sort of blistered, weeping surface; those descriptors don’t sound particularly aesthetically compelling but I really like the unique finish. However this didn’t happen with the clay I bought. It could potentially be due to how I fired it (Cone 6 electric), but from its pre-fired texture, I don’t think it had those inclusions in it to begin with. Though that was a disappointment, I am still happy with the resulting pieces.

I made a medium-sized bowl and a very small bowl, and the images below depict them individually as well as together for a better sense of scale. They are site-specific to Japan and materially meaningful!

Previous Raku Workshop: Faux Pit Firing

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I experimented one last time at the April 2025 workshop: I wanted to approximate pit firing, so I put a burnished bowl into an aluminum foil saggar along with a variety of combustibles including dried banana peel, coffee grounds, steel wool, and some metal salts.

Here is that bowl post-firing:

The metal salts didn’t really do much, but the rest of the colorants did produce a range of neutrals! I really liked this result and plan to do more in this vein in the future.

My Previous Raku Workshop: Mason Stain Saggar Pottery

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Before we get to my pieces from the October 2025 workshop, I never finished sharing my April 2025 raku pottery as I segued into Japanese residency posts and then went on from there! When we last left off, I had shared my experiments with Mason stains and crackle glazes.

I also experimented with dark teal Mason stain and ferric chloride saggar-fired pottery!

First, we have an orb marked with copper mesh:

This is a small dish which has some marks from a copper wire on the exterior:

Next, an oblong vase! The black smoky spots are from testing out a bit of copper tape:

Finally, a small bowl, using a strip of copper mesh this time!

Another Raku Workshop!

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This Saturday (October 18th), my colleague who teaches our ceramics coursework and I went to another raku ceramics workshop at Dakota Potters Supply! We were supposed to bring two alumnae, but they ended up ultimately unable to come. I’ll share the results after I photograph them, but here are a few photos from the day. I did a bit of obvara and the rest I ferric chloride dipped and then saggar fired. It was, as always, a fun event!

Progress Pictures from Summer 2025 Paintings!

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A number of people have shared with me that they really enjoy when I post progress images of my artwork, so they can see the process! Here are the behind-the-scenes pictures from this past summer.

As always, I remembered to document more with some paintings than others; I appear to have been so focused on the making of it that I never paused to photograph the process of creating Red Spider Lily - sorry!

Please also keep in mind that I take progress photos somewhat haphazardly compared to the care I put into the finished artwork images in terms of lighting, perspective, backgrounds, and color accuracy.

First we have Even the Shadows Are Fresh:

Next, we have Blue Hour:

Here is After the Rain:

And finally, Edge of Motion:

"Flora, Fauna, Form: Japan" Show Photos!

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Here are some show photos from my Flora, Fauna, Form: Japan solo show up in Eppley Art Gallery at Morningside University through October 17th! My original paintings, ceramics, and Japanese workshop results (including an indigo-dyed blazer, handmade chopsticks, and a kintsugi-repaired dish) are on display alongside professional development research and promotion.

You can click onto any of the thumbnails below to see larger images!

Upcoming: "Local Perspectives" Show at the Sioux City Art Center

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I had a painting, Incursion, juried into the competitive regional group show Local Perspectives at the Sioux City Art Center.

44 artists’ work was selected by curator Christopher Atkins from over 250 submissions by 100 artists.

Local Perspectives is up from October 2, 2025 - February 8, 2026. The opening reception is on Thursday, October 2nd from 5-7pm. The Sioux City Art Center is located at 225 Nebraska Street, Sioux City, Iowa 51101.

I’m excited to see everything that got in at the opening reception!

Japanese Summer 2025 Press Coverage

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My exhibition and associated events with several elementary schools in Yamanashi City led to some press!

  • Japanese national Yomiuri SDGs Newspaper (special educational issue of The Yomiuri Shimbun) featured my Tekisen Elementary School collaboration (part of my Nezu Memorial Museum invitational solo show and visit) in an article in July 2025.

Prindaville's feature in Yomiuri SDGs Newspaper

  • Kōhō Yamanashi (Yamanashi City Public Relations Brochure), a quarterly magazine, published “Shelby Prindaville Art Exhibition at Nezu Memorial Museum” in Issue: July 2025, Vol. 245 as part of Yamanashi City’s 20th Anniversary Commemorative Events.

Prindaville's feature in Koho Yamanashi magazine

  • Yamanashi City Cable TV broadcast segment on my Tekisen Elementary School visit and student exchange, May 2025.

Upcoming: "Flora, Fauna, Form: Japan" Solo Show

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I’ve had quite a few solo shows this year, and this is the last for 2025: Flora, Fauna, Form: Japan opens in Morningside University’s Eppley Art Gallery on September 17 and runs through October 17. It encompasses the past two years of my studio practice, which have been focused on Japanese ecology and art.

This exhibition is free and open to the public, and will feature my own original artwork along with professional development promotion. The reception will be on Wednesday, October 1st from 3-4pm, and I hope to see you there!

Morningside Art Sale Now Open!

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To follow up on my previous post, the Morningside Art Sale opens today!

There is a wide variety of artwork on offer from faculty and students, including paintings, photos, prints, greeting cards, decorative and functional ceramics, sculptures, crochet, jewelry, and more!  I noticed prices ranging from $1 to $160, so there's available art at a range of budgets.

Birthday, holiday, or just because gifts that are one-of-a-kind... don't miss out!  Please bring cash or check.  We can make limited change!

Sales hours will differ on some of the days due to student worker availability, so take a look below.  It is open to the public, so feel free to spread the word!

Today (Thursday, August 28): 1-5pm

Tomorrow (Friday, August 29): 1:35-3pm

Tuesday, September 2: 1-5pm

Wednesday, September 3: 1-5pm

Thursday, September 4: 1-5pm

Friday, September 5 (FINAL SALES DAY): 1:35-3pm* (could be through 5pm if a student worker's paperwork is processed by then!)

Fall 2025 Has Begun at Morningside University!

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Classes at Morningside University began earlier this week; I always enjoy meeting new students and look forward to catching up with returning ones!

This fall, I am teaching ART 103 Design, ART 210 Graphic Design I, ART 402 Advanced Studies in Art History, and ART 470 Graphic Design Internship.

As Morningside’s galleries director, I scheduled an art sale to open up our fall season in Eppley Art Gallery! I will be selling prints and ceramics, and I look forward to seeing what else other members of our community offer. It will open on Thursday, August 28th and run through Friday, September 5th on weekdays.

Sales times are a bit up in the air as it depends on when I can hire students for shifts, but should be some subset of 1-5pm. Please stop by if you’re interested, and note that we only take cash or check.

Arts Itoya 2025 Residency Artwork 5: Edge of Motion

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After I painted After the Rain, I still had one sheet of the Nao Washi paper I had purchased left, and I was still very interested in working with the sumi as well - so I decided to make another in the same vein! This time, the subject is a grey heron (Ardea cinerea) I spotted hunting in a river. I fortunately finished this painting just ahead of when I needed to pack up at the end of the residency!

This is Edge of Motion, sumi and acrylic on washi paper, 5.3 x 15", 2025.

New Challenge-Based Artwork: Construct

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Once again interrupting my Japanese posts to remind you that the invitational You Want a Piece of Me? exhibition which I previously posted about here ends on August 17, 2025, so due to the gallery’s open hours you have two more dates left in which to stop by! I’ll get more into that below, but first, let’s do a deep dive into what I did.

This show asked artists to create art using a jigsaw puzzle, or puzzle pieces, as part of the art - and to leave at least some portion of original puzzle visible. You may recall that last year we did a similar challenge using board games, and here is what I did for that Advance to Gogh show in 2024!

For You Want a Piece of Me?, I needed to recycle puzzles - but I don’t own any, so I stopped by a thrift store and perused their offerings. I ended up buying three puzzles, mostly based on the differing scale of the pieces. I hadn’t decided what to do yet, but I figured owning these puzzles was a good first step. They were, in order of scale: L.O.L.Surprise! Floor Puzzle [large pieces], Milton Bradley lambs puzzle [medium pieces, 1 original piece held in an octopus tentacle], Milton Bradley Big Ben waterfall puzzle [small pieces, 1 original piece held in an octopus tentacle].

I pondered what I wanted to do with them for some time, as I wanted to make something that was still my own but that also satisfied the challenge parameters. I eventually decided I’d make a sort of topography out of the puzzles. This required actually building them, which for the 1000 piece puzzle took far longer than I wanted it to; I ended up building the other two easily but only assembling a few sections of the Milton Bradley Big Ben waterfall puzzle until I had enough connected material to satisfy my needs.

Then I built up a patchwork foundation, purposefully rejecting any edge pieces as I wanted the sculpture to communicate growth potential along its full border. After I glued it together and somewhat leveled its base, I then sculpted an octopus atop it. I formed the octopus out of QCC, clutching a mid-sized puzzle piece in one of its tentacles and a small piece in another. I also added some sand ridges. After curing, I painted the whole sculpture! Here are some progress pictures:

And here’s the finished piece! This is Construct, acrylic, QuickCure Clay, glue, and puzzle pieces, 16x25.67x3.25", 2025.

If you want to see Construct and the other Gallery 103 You Want a Piece of Me? entries in person, you can stop by either tomorrow (Saturday, August 9th) or next Saturday, August 16th between 10am and 1pm. Gallery 103 is located on the ground floor of the Ho-Chunk Centre located at 600 4th St, Sioux City, IA 51101.

Arts Itoya 2025 Residency Artwork 4: After the Rain

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In my travels in Japan, I’ve repeatedly come across calligraphy tools, artwork, and even participated in a 5th grade calligraphy lesson last year in Yamanashi City! In art classrooms in the US, the primary liquid ink we use is India ink (sometimes called China ink). Sumi is a bit different; the primary differentiator is that liquid sumi is typically soot bound with a synthetic glue that is not waterproof, so it can be lifted even after it dries. India ink is typically waterproof after drying. Sumi also has a more expressive and variable tone compared to the uniform performance of India ink.

In Japan, there is a type of artwork called sumi-e, which are ink wash paintings. They are often 100% sumi, though some add small accents with red ink and you can find some outliers that expand the color palette just a bit further. By adding acrylic paint, however, I have definitely strayed outside of making a traditional sumi-e. This would be better classified as mixed media, inspired by sumi-e. I painted atop a washi paper I purchased at Nao Washi in Saga.

The subject of this painting is a Japanese native freshwater crab (Geothelphusa dehaani) called sawagani (サワガニ). I have seen these crabs all around Japan, often in and around streams but also venturing further afield in evening rains. I encountered this one on the street while biking home from the studio one night right after the rain had stopped.

This is After the Rain, sumi and acrylic on washi paper, 5.3 x 15", 2025.

Arts Itoya 2025 Residency Show: Ikigai, Continuing

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My June 2025 show card design for Ikigai, Continuing.

The Arts Itoya residency show and reception was scheduled earlier in June 2025 than it was in June 2024 and I arrived five days late due to my show at Kansai Gaidai, so I only had three works finished for my Arts Itoya show (as well as a work in progress!). I titled my show Ikigai, Continuing 「生き甲斐・再び」, to connect it to my June 2024 Arts Itoya show Ikigai 「生き甲斐」. To the right you can see the show card face which I designed!

The reception was a great time; it was four hours long and quite a few people stopped in to check it out. I had invited a very well-known artist from Takeo, Takeru Niizato, to stop by (and also asked if I could set up a visit to his atelier after our show came down); he was very kind and took the time to attend our reception and scheduled our visit for later that week.

Below are some photos from my show reception!