Lara Emerling Grace is a teaching artist and mother of two originally from Tennessee. Grace received a BFA in Interdisciplinary Sculpture and Master of Arts in Teaching from Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). Her recent body of work emerged during the pandemic while navigating the compatibility and influence of parenthood, work, studio, office, and kitchen tasks. Like a bead or an amulet, these hand-formed ceramics reference the body in the sphere of the domestic. Grace’s table-top sculptures offer a meditative take on playful attention and its ability to both cultivate devotion and elevate the senses. She lives and works in Baltimore, Maryland with her family.Born Jacksonville, Florida 1984Raised Memphis, TennesseeLives and works in Baltimore, Maryland Education
Master of Arts in Teaching, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) 2008Bachelor of Fine Arts, Interdisciplinary Sculpture, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) 2007School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Early College ProgramTeaching Experience
Art Educator, Maryland Certified K-12, present-2008Art Educator, Young Peoples’ Studio, Maryland Institute College of Art, 2008-2013Selected Group Exhibitions
Small Favors, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2023 Everything is Sculpture, Bells Gallery, Dothan, Alabama 2023 Faculty & Staff Exhibition, Vollmer Center Gallery at Cylburn Arboretum, Baltimore, Maryland, 2023 Clocking in for Unpaid Labor, Orland Park Public Library, Curated by Elaine Luther, Orland Park, Illinois 2023 Midnight Things, The Martin, Curated by Whitney LaMora, Chicago, Illinois 2022 Teacher as Artist Exhibition, A Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent’s Gallery Exhibition, Virtual Exhibition and Greenwood Mansion, Towson, Maryland 2022Crimson Tide, Soft Times Gallery, San Francisco, California 2022It’s The Little Things, Cork Factory Jordan Faye Projects, Baltimore, Maryland 2022Taking Up Space - Grassroots Female Focused Community Global Art Exhibition, Baltimore, Maryland 2022Teacher as Artist, Greenwood Mansion Gallery, Towson, Maryland 2019Making Art While Teaching, Maryland Institute College of Art, Curated by Rachel Valsing, Baltimore, Maryland 2017Partners, Baltimore County Arts Guild, Catonsville, Maryland 2017Forum of 40 Champions, Minstallation Gallery at Creative Alliance, Curated by Gary Kachadourian, Baltimore, Maryland 2010Püss Füst, Open Space, Curated by Molly Colleen O'Connell, Marie O’Neill, & Sarah Milinski, Baltimore, Maryland 2010Lotta Art, School 33 Art Center, Curated by Jason Hughes, Baltimore, Maryland 2009MAT Thesis Exhibition, Meyerhoff Gallery, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland 2008Endwise, Current Space, Curated by Hermonie Williams, Baltimore, Maryland 20075th Annual Transmodern Festival – Pedestrian Services Exquisite, Load of Fun Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland 2007Color, 2219 Gallery, Curated by Nancy Froehlich, Baltimore, Maryland 2007Antagonism, Hacks, and Hoaxes, Maryland Art Place, Curated by Michael Benevento, Baltimore, Maryland 2007BFA Thesis Exhibition, Middendorf Gallery, Maryland Institute College of Art 2007Sub-Station Sculpture Exhibition, Juried by Kendall Buster, 306 Oliver Street, Baltimore, Maryland 2006Plan View Site, Villa Julie College, Curated by Rubeling & Kain Studios, Owings Mills, Maryland 2006Juried Undergraduate Sculptural Studies Exhibit, Fox 2 Gallery Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland 2006New York Summer Studio Exhibition, MICA in Tribeca, Facilitated by Thyrza Nichols Goodeve, New York City, New York 2005Summer Studio Exhibition, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 2002 Honors & Grants
Access for All Grant Award 2011Baltimore City Schools Sustainability Grant Award 2011Arts Every Day Grant Award, The Felted Mural Residency by Young Audiences Arts For Learning 2010Maryland Institute College of Art Leadership Award 2008Selected Bibliography
Feature: Sixty Inches From Center, Elbow Grease: Clocking In For Unpaid Labor, photo essay by Elaine Luther, 2023Publication: PTA: Parenting Through Anything Magazine Issue #1 , Designed by Chloe Irla, 2022Feature: Connecting Creativity Research and Practice in Art Education: Foundations, Pedagogies, and Contemporary Issues, Fiat Lux: Creativity Through Play by Stacey McKenna Salazar, https://staceysalazar.academia.edu/research#singleauthoredbook, Published by National Art Education Association 2015Press: Bmore Art, https://bmoreart.com/2010/01/puss-fust-at-open-space-january-16.html, Words by Cara Ober, 2010Press: Bmore Art, https://bmoreart.com/2008/04/5th-annual-transmodern-festival.html, Words by Cara Ober, 2008Publication: Learning To Love You More, http://learningtoloveyoumore.com/ Created by Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher, Published by Prestel 2007Related Experience
Cooperating/Mentor Teacher to new faculty and pre-service candidates, partnerships with Morgan State University, Towson University and Maryland Institute College of Art, present-2012Artist Residency in Motherhood, Residency founded by Lenka Clayton, Baltimore, Maryland 2022Southern Crit, Critically Raised in the South, Virtual Studio Visit Facilitated by Jodi Hays, Nashville, Tennessee via Baltimore, Maryland 2022Art is for Everyone: Baltimore County Public Schools Student Art Exhibition, Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland 2022Artist/Mother Art Residency, Virtual/Home Studio, Baltimore, Maryland 2022Wearing All The Hats, Professional Practice for Artists/Mothers, facilitated by Kaylan Buteyn and Isadora Stowe, Baltimore, Maryland 2022M:Brace Intersections of Art and Wellness, Maryland Centers for Creative Classroom, Baltimore, Maryland 20209th Annual Kindness For Paws, The Maryland SPCA, White Marsh Mall, Baltimore, Maryland 2020Family Art Retreat, Curated by Whitney Cecil, Fox Haven Organic Farm, Ecological Retreat & Learning Center, 2019Maryland Centers for Creative Classroom, Fine Arts Office of the Maryland State Department of Education and Arts Education in Maryland Schools, Baltimore, Maryland 2018Arts Integration Professional Training in Music, Theater Arts and Dance, Maryland State Department of Education, Howard County, Maryland 2018Art on Purpose: Black Male Identity Project, Reginald F. Lewis Museum, Baltimore, Maryland 2012University Of Maryland School of Law, Conflict Resolution Strategies by Center for Dispute Resolution, Baltimore, Maryland 2009-2011Charm City Cakes, Community Art Outreach Co-Organized with Lauren Friedman and The Stadium School, Baltimore, Maryland 2010Co-Organized Artist Talk with Garrett Davis at The Stadium School, Baltimore, Maryland 2010Fabric Painting Workshop, House of Ruth Maryland, Collaboration with Artist-in-Resident Hannah Brancato, Baltimore, Maryland 2009Where I’m From: An Exploration of Identity by the Students of Lombard Middle, Gallery 1448, Co-Organized with Jennifer Carinci and Catie Russo, Baltimore, Maryland 2009Baltimore Racial Justice Action Workshop Series, Sojourner-Douglass College, Baltimore, Maryland 2008-2009fyi…For Your Inspiration: Baltimore City Public Schools Student Art Exhibition, Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland 2008Wham City, Sad Little Pony Musical, Theatrical Costume Designer, Written and Directed by Adam Endres, Current Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland 2006Artist Talk, Shelby County Public Schools, Memphis, Tennessee 2004Assistant Librarian, Decker Library, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland 2003-2007