Kendall
Traylor
Work
→ Waste to Value
→ Process
→ Shard Archive
→ Body Studies
→ Plantiful Undulation
→ Organic Fillers
About
→ bio
→ C/V
→ Revitalizing Clay
Shop
→ ReKlaymed:
100% Recycled Pottery
Contact
Kendall
Work
→ Waste to Value
→ Process
→ Shard Archive
→ Body Studies
→ Plantiful Undulation
→ Organic Fillers
About
→ bio
→ C/V
→ Revitalizing Clay
Shop
→ ReKlaymed:
100% Recycled Pottery
Contact
I work with clay as both a medium and an archive, creating terrazzo-speckled sculptures from recycled ceramic waste, paper, drywall, and other discarded materials collected from the community. Each embedded fragment holds the memory of its past life, like scars pressed into skin, turning fragile gestures and broken matter into enduring form. My practice is rooted in the labor of reclamation: slow, physical processes of breaking down, drying, pulverizing, and reforming thousands of pounds of waste into new clay bodies where traces remain visible as structural and conceptual markers.
The resulting works are not pristine—they carry seams, folds, and raw textures as evidence of transformation and care. Built through intuitive movements and bodily engagement, the forms echo the body itself: heavy, voluminous, unapologetic in scale. Emerging from walls, floors, and corners, they can appear parasitic or tender, refusing to shrink and insisting on presence.
By reclaiming materials and claiming space, I affirm the value of what has been overlooked or discarded. My work connects sustainability to memory, care, and embodiment, turning absence into presence, waste into value, and scars into monuments.
Biography
Kendall Traylor was born and raised in Long Beach, California. She began working with clay at the age of sixteen. In 2022, Kendall received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics and a Biomedical Illustration Certification from California State University, Long Beach. In Summer 2024, Kendall participated in an International Artist Residency and an artist lecture at The Pottery Workshop in Jingdezhen, China. She is a third-year student at Arizona State University (ASU) pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree. She currently teaches Introductory Ceramics at ASU and is a ceramics instructor and a Vocational Rehabilitation Job coach at SEEDs For Autism in Phoenix, AZ. Research grants Kendall has received include the Martin Wong Foundation (2023), Arizona Artists’ Guild (2023), and the ASU Changemaker Action Grant (2025). Kendall has exhibited work at the Harry Wood Gallery, the New School for Academics and Art (2024), the ASU Humanities Institute in Tempe, AZ, and the Shemer Art Center and Step Gallery in Phoenix, AZ. Her teaching and community work further extend her commitment to material care and accessibility in the ceramics field.
C/V
Kendall Traylor
Phoenix, AZ
Born 1999, Long Beach, CA
Education
2023 - 2026 Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, Arizona State University. Tempe, AZ
MFA: Three-year fully-funded graduate scholarship
2017 - 2022 California State University, Long Beach. Long Beach, CA
BFA Ceramics & Biomedical Illustration Prep Certification
Awards & Grants
2025 Changemaker Action Grant- Change the World 2025, Arizona State University. Tempe, AZ
2024 AAG Curran-Bleakney Scholarship, Arizona Artists’ Guild, Phoenix, AZ
Jumpstart Research Grant, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
2023 Martin Wong Foundation Scholarship. First Prize in Ceramics/3D
Solo Exhibitions & Residencies
2025 International Artist Residency & Artist Lecture, The Pottery Workshop, Jingdezhen, China
2022 Plantiful Undulation, BFA Culminating Show, Max L. Gatov Gallery, Long Beach, CA
Group Exhibitions
2025 Soil to Sculpture: The Art of Clay, Shemer Art Center and Museum. Phoenix, AZ.
We Are Everywhere: A (Con)Temporary Queer Visual Resource Center, Harry Wood Gallery, Tempe, AZ
International Ceramic Gift Exchange 2024/2025, Franz Rising Star Project, Taipei, Taiwan
Weird Flex 2024-25, ASU Humanities Institute, Tempe, AZ
2024 Historical to Hysterical, Harry Wood Gallery, Tempe, AZ
SHOW: Your Work, New School for Academics and Art, Tempe, AZ
Site x Arcosanti: body/architecture/landscape, Cosanti Foundation, Arcosanti, AZ
2024 Galbut Prize Exhibition, Gallery 100, Mirabella, Tempe, AZ
2023 I Love Lamp, Step Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
New Graduate Exhibition, Harry Wood Gallery, Tempe, AZ
Kink Show, Curator & Participant, Dennis W. Dutzi Gallery, Long Beach, CA, Curator & Participant
2022 Any Other Time But Now, Curator & Participant, Marilyn Werby Gallery, Long Beach, CA
Teaching Experience
2025 - present Special Education Ceramics Instructor & VR Counselor - SEEDs for Autism. Phoenix, AZ
Teacher on Record - Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, Arizona State University. Tempe, AZ
Spring 2026 ART 111: Introduction to Drawing
Fall 2025 ART 261: Topic: Ceramics for Non-Major & ART 394: Ceramics Survey
Spring 2025 ART 261: Topic: Ceramics for Non-Major & ART 394: Ceramics Survey
Fall 2024 ART 111: Introduction to Drawing
Graduate Teaching Assistant - Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, Arizona State University. Tempe, AZ Fall 2023 ART 364/365: Ceramics Handbuilding I/II
Spring 2024 ARA 240: Encounters with Art
2022 Adult Special Education Ceramics Instructor - Creative Identity. Non-Profit. Anaheim, CA
2021 Children’s Ceramics Instructor - Clay on First. Long Beach, CA
2020-2022 Ceramic Arts Club President - California State University, Long Beach. Long Beach, CA
BFA Culminating Show
A large part of my life's work, in both ceramics and drawing, has stemmed from highlighting the things I love. Growing up, I would draw my favorite television characters and celebrities. As I practiced more, I found that I had a natural understanding of shapes and figures. For upwards of ten years, I took art classes, doodled, and made commissions for my classmates. By enrolling in ceramics during my Junior year of High School, I quickly realized that clay was the perfect medium for my artistic desires, as it was more physically stimulating than illustration.
For the last seven years, I have been working with and trying to better understand clay as a medium. I came to CSULB as a Studio Art major, but quickly changed my mind after taking an intro ceramics class and befriending many of the existing Majors. For a long time, the ceramic work I created in the studio was all about intense detail and observation, just as the drawings I had made all my life were. But in Fall 2021, I enrolled in an experimental ceramics class that completely shifted the way I work.
In the last year, the basis of my practice has shifted from precise and painterly to a more organic, boundless foundation. By stepping out of my comfort zone, I have seen my work evolve. The current and future state of my artwork is not absolute or conclusive in my mind, but I am just following the way that the clay sways me. When building these forms, I do little to no planning; the clay ebbs and flows, telling me where to counteract the force. It feels cathartic to have this time to turn my brain off and completely build on instinct. Even though my practice has shifted to the abstract, I did not want to completely abandon the skills that I spent so many years honing. By joining the Biomedical Illustration Program, my hunger to create in great detail is satiated. Intention is a keyword for this exhibition. I wanted there to be a cohesive theme and feeling spread throughout the room, creating a scene for the viewer. I love having an extensive collection of exotic house plants, so creating a homescap complemented by drawings of the plants in the room has always been my vision. I do not connect a deeper meaning to my work, but I appreciate the symbolism behind many common plants that we own. I want the viewer to reflect on the meaning of each of these plant images on the wall and to leave the gallery having learned something.
Description of plant illustrations from left to right viewing:
1. Philodendron
- Love or appreciation of nature, tree-loving, health, and abundance
- Longing, eternity, perseverance, endurability, wealth, and good fortune
- Longevity/long life, respect, honor. Also monster, mystery, suffocation
- Known as 'the tree that grows up to the heavens’. It is said to be the plant in all the Western and Eastern versions of the fairytale of Jack and the Beanstalk. It thereby stands for seizing opportunities when they arise, even when they're risky.
L. 33.5’ x W. 22’
Stoneware, Earthenware, underglaze, glaze, found objects, stabilized clay, live plants
A collection of works for my Senior BFA Ceramics exhibition. Images by Griffin Traylor.
L. 21” x W. 23” x H 62.5” (measurements of piece in the center)
Stoneware, Earthenware, underglaze, glaze, found objects, stabilized clay, live plants
A detailed shot of the front left section of my gallery space. The piece in the middle, ‘Cat on Tree’, is the largest and is surrounded by an illustration on canvas, another sculpture (‘Tendrils Vessel’), and plants displayed in various ways.
L. 16.5” x W. 12” x H. 52” (lamp on pedestal) & L. 29” x W. 25” x H. 45” (chair on pedestal)
Stoneware, glaze, underglaze, stabilized clay, found objects, live plant
A small home scene of a ceramic chair and lamp, both shown on pedestals. A lampshade, pillow, and other objects are covered in stabilized clay to tie into the spot. A small Alocasia plant is placed on the floor as a compliment.
L. 12.5” x W. 9.5” x H. 67” (‘Helix’ including pedestal) & L. 15” x W. 15” x H. 40” (plant in pot)
Earthenware, underglaze, glaze, live plant
Hollow Terracotta clay form with a gradient of black and clear glaze. Displayed on a matching pedestal. A Snake Plant accompanying the sculpture is shown in a glazed pot made of recycled clay.
L. 61” x W. 24” x H. 32” (table measurements)
Earthenware, organic filler vessels, unglazed, live plants
Using my last 300 pounds of clay, I thought a table would complement my vision of a homescape. The table is adorned with organic filler vessels and plants. A large illustration of an Alocasia leaf is on the wall as a compliment.