IOWA CITY, UNITED STATES

ABBEY PETERS

Crossed Thorns

$1,048.00
Exhibition Submission Statement

My research explores inherited secrets within the home – whispers, warnings, and old wives’ tales passed down to protect future generations. I reference domestic interiors, decorative arts, and gardens to explore ideas of matrilineal knowledge and secret-keeping as a tool for survival.

Women have long carried underappreciated domestic roles, sharing unspoken rules to survive and protect one another. We whisper warnings of danger around us – those that grow in grass or sleep next to us at night. We share seeds to make tea when clinics will no longer offer care. We swap recipes to calm symptoms when doctors don’t believe our pain. We walk each other home when the night is too dark. The whispers, often dismissed as fruitless gossip, offer a veil of care, a camouflage to hide in plain sight.

I build interactive ceramic jars and furniture to conceal items commonly used by myself, and people back hundreds of years that may now or one day be illicit: contraceptives, abortifacient herbs, recipes, books. The floral patterns protect the sculptures by harnessing the usual dismissal of decoration and femininity throughout history. I offer my inherited secrets and stories for a future generation.

Dimensions: 12"H x 9"D

Material: Ceramic

Artwork ships: beginning october 22nd

Crossed Thorns

Abbey Peters, 2024
1

Artist Statement

My research explores inherited secrets within the home – whispers, warnings, and old wives’ tales passed down to protect future generations. I reference domestic interiors, decorative arts, and gardens to explore ideas of matrilineal knowledge and secret-keeping as a tool for survival.

Women have long carried underappreciated domestic roles, sharing unspoken rules to survive and protect one another. We whisper warnings of danger around us – those that grow in grass or sleep next to us at night. We share seeds to make tea when clinics will no longer offer care. We swap recipes to calm symptoms when doctors don’t believe our pain. We walk each other home when the night is too dark. The whispers, often dismissed as fruitless gossip, offer a veil of care, a camouflage to hide in plain sight.

2

About the Artist

Abbey Peters is an artist based in Iowa City, USA, working with ceramics and collected materials. She holds an MFA in Ceramics from the University of Iowa and a BFA from the University of Arkansas. Her work has been exhibited nationally in over thirty group exhibitions. Peters has received international research grants supporting projects on midwifery and beekeeping in London, UK. She has held positions at Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, CO, and Lillstreet Art Center in Chicago, IL. Her artist residencies include laRex l’Atelier in St. Raphael, France; the inaugural CIRCA Exchange in Boulder, CO; and the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT. Peters currently serves as the 3D Studio Technician at Grinnell College.

Artist cv

ABBEY PETERS

EDUCATION


Master of Fine Arts — Ceramics (Secondary: Sculpture), University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA


  • Master of Arts — Ceramics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

  • Bachelor of Fine Arts — Studio Art (Minor: Art History), University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR

ARTIST RESIDENCIES


  • Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT

  • laRex l’Atelier: International Artist Residency Exchange, St. Raphael, France

  • CIRCA Residency Exchange, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE


  • Visiting Assistant Professor & Artist in Residence, University of Denver, Denver, CO

    – Teach two special-instruction advanced ceramics classes

  • 3D Studio Technician & Gallery Coordinator, Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA

    – Maintain/repair equipment; create systems for organization; implement safety protocols for 3D areas

    – Lead fabrication demos in woodshop and digital media lab for foundations/interdisciplinary classes

    – Order supplies; manage departmental budget; research and integrate new technology and equipment

    – Hire, train, and manage eight student workers (gallery, digital fabrication studio, all 3D areas)

  • Ceramics Area Administrator, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

    – Coordinated travel/accommodations for 20+ students to attend two ceramics conferences

    – Created itineraries for visiting artist demos; organized studio visits and community events

  • Instructor of Record, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

    – Full teaching responsibilities for 1–2 intro/intermediate ceramics classes each semester

    – Collaborated to load/fire student work for seven sections, multiple times per week

  • Studio Manager & Instructor, Thrown Elements Pottery, Arlington Heights, IL

    – Managed 12-person team; hired/trained instructors and assistants

    – Taught and developed programs: classes, workshops, summer camps, private lessons

  • Teaching Assistant & Monitor, Lillstreet Art Center, Chicago, IL

  • Ceramics Intern, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass Village, CO

    – Assisted 20+ faculty and hundreds of students in ceramics/digital fabrication workshops

    – Led studio orientations/tours; organized schedules, firings, and studio upkeep

SOLO EXHIBITIONS


  • Carefully Held, Berea College, Berea, KY

  • 24: Sub Rosa, UI Health Care: Project Art, Iowa City, IA

  • From Lemons to Leaves, Drewelowe Gallery, Iowa City, IA

  • Four Years Later, Walker Stone House, Fayetteville, AR

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS


  • Beyond the Garden (in conjunction with NCECA 2026), Detroit, MI

  • Soft Powers, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO

  • Acts of Care: Nurturing the Present, Shaping the Future, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL

  • Studio Break Invitational (curated by Marc Mitchell), Studio Break, West Chicago, IL

  • Intersections: Meaning Through Materiality, A Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

  • Vessels, Union Street Gallery, Chicago Heights, IL

  • Midwest Regional, Artlink Contemporary, Fort Wayne, IN

  • River 2 River, Gilded Pear Gallery, Cedar Rapids, IA

  • Garden of Earthly Delights, Coop Gallery, Nashville, TN

  • Small Favors, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA

  • NCECA Juried Student Exhibition, Visual Art Center, Richmond, VA

  • Ephemeral Altars, 3 North, Richmond, VA

  • Clay National (curated by Matt Mitros), Clay Studio of Santa Barbara, Goleta, CA

  • What We Take Forward, Smalter Gallery, Kansas City, MO

  • (Be)longing, Latela, Washington, DC

  • CIRCA Annual Invitational, University of Colorado–Boulder, Boulder, CO

  • Potted & Planted, The Greenhouse, Iowa City, IA

  • 38th San Angelo Ceramic Symposium, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, TX

  • Past Curfew, Somerset, Cincinnati, OH

  • Lushly (curated by Sydney Ewerth & Paul Maloney), Fern, Cincinnati, OH


RESEARCH & SERVICE


  • Graduate & Professional Student Government Research, Iowa City, IA

    – Funding to travel to the Millennium Seed Bank, Chelsea Physic Garden, and the V&A Museum (London) for research related to current work

  • Small Grant for the Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences, Iowa City, IA

    – Funding to build a community apiary/garden to research the honeybee ecosystem and collect wax, honey, propolis, and seeds from abortifacient plants

  • Teaching Artist, UI Reach Art Workshop, Iowa City, IA

    – Led ceramics classes for students with differing intellectual, cognitive, and learning abilities

  • Volunteer Crisis Advocate, Rape Victim Advocacy Program, Iowa City, IA

    – Completed 36-hour trauma-informed advocacy training; served on-call to support clients across schools, hospitals, and law enforcement

AWARDS & GRANTS


  • Vermont Studio Center Fellowship, Johnson, VT

  • Union Street Gallery — Merit Award, Chicago Heights, IL

  • Athena Fund Finalist, Arc Gallery, Chicago, IL

  • CIRCA Residency Exchange Grant, Boulder, CO

  • Graduate & Professional Student Government Research Grant, Iowa City, IA

  • Small Grant for the Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences, Iowa City, IA

  • Graduate Student Senate Degree-Related Travel Award, Iowa City, IA

  • Len Everett Award for Excellence, Iowa City, IA

  • Glenn C. Nelson Memorial Award, Iowa City, IA

  • School of Art Summer Research Grant, Fayetteville, AR

  • Anderson Ranch Arts Center Workshop Scholarship, Snowmass Village, CO

  • School of Art Research Travel Award, Fayetteville, AR

  • Nina J. Erikson Merit Scholarship, Fayetteville, AR

  • UARK Rome Summer Program Scholarship, Rome, Italy

ARTIST LECTURES, DEMOS & WORKSHOPS


  • Berea College — Visiting Artist Workshop & Lecture, Berea, KY (forthcoming)

  • University of Colorado–Boulder — Visiting Artist Demonstration, Boulder, CO

  • Cornell College — Visiting Artist Lecture (virtual)

  • Anderson Ranch Arts Center — Artist Lecture, Snowmass Village, CO

PUBLICATIONS, FEATURES & COLLECTIONS


  • Ceramics Monthly, Spotlight Article: “A Decorative Vessel,” June/July/August 2025

  • Kinhouse Art — catalog (curated by Kaylan Buteyn & Dana Caldera)

  • Grinnell College, The Scarlet & Black: “Grinnell’s Underground Art Scene” (essay by Bea Crist)

  • Woodman Study Collection, University of Colorado Boulder

  • Milk — catalog (curated by Nicolette Bonagura & Nicole Norman)

  • UARK Lamp — catalog and essay by Adam Welch

GROUP EXHIBITIONS (CONT.)


  • Ceramics Invitational Exhibition & Symposium, Drewelowe Gallery, Iowa City, IA

  • Think Pink!, Public Space One, Iowa City, IA

  • Hang In There Baby, Levitt Gallery, Iowa City, IA

  • On the Kitchen Wall, Able Gallery, Libertyville, IL

  • Locus: III (Curated by Whitney LaMora), The Martin, Chicago, IL

  • Tacos On Plates, Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO

  • Interim, Patton-Malott Gallery, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass Village, CO

  • Green: Year Two (Curated by Allison Hobbs & Chloe Jones), Company Club, Bentonville, AR

  • Pale Pinky, Walker Stone House, Fayetteville, AR

  • UARK Lamp (curated by Chris Rodgers), Forage Modern, Minneapolis, MN

  • Resting (Curated by Payton Wiedner), Forage Modern, Minneapolis, MN

  • NWA Scout Guide Exhibition, Windgate Design District, Fayetteville, AR

  • Art Walk — Ceramics Exhibition, UARK Ceramics Studio, Fayetteville, AR

  • Venus — Collaborative Performance, Ponte Sant’Angelo, Rome, Italy

  • Juried Student Exhibition, Fine Arts Gallery, Fayetteville, AR

Other works from the WHAT HOLDS Exhibition