This is the final post in a three-part series on Scott McClellan, head of ceramics at the Seattle Artist League. The first post looked at the grounded physicality of his pots; the second, at the structures—musical, material, and cultural—that shape his thinking. Now we turn to the studio he built: how his quiet pragmatism and clear decisions shaped a ceramics program that makes room for difference and stays open to change.
Built from Clay
Scott McClellan earned his BFA in ceramics from Utah State University, then worked as a studio tech at Edinboro University before completing a long-term residency at Taos Clay. He went on to earn an MFA from the University of Missouri, with a minor in sculpture, followed by a two-year wood-fire residency at the Clay Studio of Missoula, where he conducted most of the glaze research that would shape his later work.
McClellan designed and built the ceramics program at the Seattle Artist League, where he now teaches and serves as head of ceramics. His teaching is clear and pragmatic. His professional practices class includes a demonstration where he boxes a pot and throws it across the room—to show the packing works. There is no performance, only proof.
The Studios He Built
McClellan’s work reflects the values at the Seattle Artist League: process over polish, presence over perfection, curiosity over certainty. Like the school he helped shape, his work invites attention, encourages variation, and holds space for uncertainty.
It’s an ethos of attention, adaptation, and making that stays responsive—always adjusting, never formulaic. It leans into friction. It finds structure in process and honesty in imperfection
McClellan doesn’t teach students to throw like he does. He built a space where they can throw how they want—with attention, with edge, without apology. What he shaped at the League isn’t a style. It’s a studio built for staying in motion.
Stay tuned—there’s one more post on the way, marking a major milestone for the League’s ceramics studio and the community it’s grown.
Day 24 of our 30 Day January Challenge was Pathways to the Rectangle. Pathways are directional marks and shapes for our eyes to follow across a drawing or painting. They are a powerful compositional tool to keep the viewer’s eyes engaged and moving around a composition. Connecting these pathways to the edge of the rectangle …
Take a class with SAL – anywhere! See those little horns at the top of Moses’ head? It’s a bit of a misunderstanding. In the old Latin Vulgate Bible, they used the term “cornuta facies” which can be translated either as “horned face” or “radiant face” to describe how Moses’ looked after he chatted with …
One year ago in March, to protect our students and teachers from a new coronavirus, the Seattle Artist League moved our classes online. The virus was declared a national emergency, and we went into quarantine. We have now been in quarantine for thirteen months. Through this year, we have met each other online to draw, …
Take a class with SAL – anywhere! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Today I give you artworks that feature the Thanksgiving-ish color orange. My intention was to post a few, but once I started to collect a few, I saw orange in artworks everywhere! As this post grew, my shifting goals for organization and style became increasingly …
Scott McClellan: The Studios He Built
This is the final post in a three-part series on Scott McClellan, head of ceramics at the Seattle Artist League. The first post looked at the grounded physicality of his pots; the second, at the structures—musical, material, and cultural—that shape his thinking. Now we turn to the studio he built: how his quiet pragmatism and clear decisions shaped a ceramics program that makes room for difference and stays open to change.
Built from Clay
Scott McClellan earned his BFA in ceramics from Utah State University, then worked as a studio tech at Edinboro University before completing a long-term residency at Taos Clay. He went on to earn an MFA from the University of Missouri, with a minor in sculpture, followed by a two-year wood-fire residency at the Clay Studio of Missoula, where he conducted most of the glaze research that would shape his later work.
McClellan designed and built the ceramics program at the Seattle Artist League, where he now teaches and serves as head of ceramics. His teaching is clear and pragmatic. His professional practices class includes a demonstration where he boxes a pot and throws it across the room—to show the packing works. There is no performance, only proof.
The Studios He Built
McClellan’s work reflects the values at the Seattle Artist League: process over polish, presence over perfection, curiosity over certainty. Like the school he helped shape, his work invites attention, encourages variation, and holds space for uncertainty.
It’s an ethos of attention, adaptation, and making that stays responsive—always adjusting, never formulaic. It leans into friction. It finds structure in process and honesty in imperfection
McClellan doesn’t teach students to throw like he does. He built a space where they can throw how they want—with attention, with edge, without apology. What he shaped at the League isn’t a style. It’s a studio built for staying in motion.
Stay tuned—there’s one more post on the way, marking a major milestone for the League’s ceramics studio and the community it’s grown.
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Day 24 of our 30 Day January Challenge was Pathways to the Rectangle. Pathways are directional marks and shapes for our eyes to follow across a drawing or painting. They are a powerful compositional tool to keep the viewer’s eyes engaged and moving around a composition. Connecting these pathways to the edge of the rectangle …
A Cringe Worthy Mistake
Take a class with SAL – anywhere! See those little horns at the top of Moses’ head? It’s a bit of a misunderstanding. In the old Latin Vulgate Bible, they used the term “cornuta facies” which can be translated either as “horned face” or “radiant face” to describe how Moses’ looked after he chatted with …
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One year ago in March, to protect our students and teachers from a new coronavirus, the Seattle Artist League moved our classes online. The virus was declared a national emergency, and we went into quarantine. We have now been in quarantine for thirteen months. Through this year, we have met each other online to draw, …
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Take a class with SAL – anywhere! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Today I give you artworks that feature the Thanksgiving-ish color orange. My intention was to post a few, but once I started to collect a few, I saw orange in artworks everywhere! As this post grew, my shifting goals for organization and style became increasingly …