Liam McSteen

Liam McSteen is a ceramic artist and art historian. An alumni of Ohio University and Athens, Ohio native, he has been surrounded by clay and ceramic works his entire life. His interest in functional pottery took shape during his deep investigation into the domestic space working as a home renovator during his college years. Studying art and history in his hometown furthered his interest, as he began to learn the significance of clay throughout the Ohio Valley. In 2023, Liam published a thesis written about the history of clay in the Ohio Valley. Beginning with the glacial patterns which made clay abundant in the region, he discusses its significance to the historical inhabitants of the region. From the indigenous people of Ohio to the eventual European settlers of the region, Liam outlines the many uses of clay and the ways it contributed to the different societies. He finishes by addressing the state of clay in the region, and how the history of ceramics has molded the region today. 

Liam now resides on Chautauqua Lake in Western New York, where he continues to teach ceramics and explore art that matters to the planet at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute. Liam was recently selected as an Emerging Artist by the Ohio Craft Museum in Columbus. His work has been selected for showing across the US at the Red Lodge Clay Center in Red Lodge, MT and at Watermark Gallery in Bemidji, MN. He has also shown regionally at the Ohio Craft Museum and has taken part in Juried Exhibitions hosted by Ohio University and the Majestic Gallery in Nelsonville, OH.