Marcella Lally

ceramics & mixed media  

Coming from a large family of artists and craftsmen, Marcy has art in her blood. She graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute, where the found her love for clay while exploring different mediums.

After graduation, she studied abroad in Pietrasanta, Italy. Enrico Marchetti taught her the basics of marble carving, and she worked along side different Italian artisans and furthered her skills as a sculptor. The handmade tools she used in Italy can still be found in her studio today. 

After returning to the United States, she earned her master’s in Sculpture from Northern Illinois University. Here, she immersed herself in nature, regularly visiting the National Forest Preserves and making sculptures from the materials she found outside. She supported herself at this time by working as a floral designer. This floral influence can be seen in her current work.

Currently, she sculpts using animal skulls and hand-crafted ceramic clay flowers. These works suggest ephemeral beauty and the cyclical aspects of nature.