Adam Nelson-Ockenfels is a ceramic artist living in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He is currently obtaining his Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics while attending Western Michigan University and his work is dual emphasis in both small batch functional production as well as abstract sculptural construction.

Adam grew up in the Iowa City, Iowa area, attended Iowa State University, and graduated from Iowa State in 2019. While attending ISU he majored in history, minored in political science, and also gained his certificate to teach. Upon graduating, he entered the field of public education. Adam taught middle school social studies for three years in Dubuque, Iowa, achieved recognition for early teaching success, and also acquired his standard teaching license during his first few years of teaching. Although, COVID and political turmoil (which especially surrounded teaching history) encouraged him to pivot within the realm of education. He enrolled at the University of Iowa to gain his art teaching endorsement. However, that endorsement nurtured an aptitude for ceramics which turned into Adam obtaining a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a ceramic emphasis in addition to his high school art teaching endorsement. The ceramic BFA segued into a long-term residency at the Iowa Ceramics Center and Glass Studios which then acted as a key steppingstone to being accepted into several fully funded Ceramic MFA programs. He selected Western Michigan University due to its faculty, facilities and ultimately aims to teach ceramics at the post-secondary level.

Adam’s educational background continues to greatly inform his work. He focuses on the production of functional vessels, converting those functional vessels into sculptural forms, and attempting to engage audiences in critical thinking throughout that process. He hopes to use clay as a neutral space for developing critical thought patters that can then be applied to the political realm, transcend biases, and ultimately lead to more objective truths.