Benjamin Harrison Chamberlain (1975-2021) was a Studio Potter, Kiln designer & builder, Charcuterie Connoisseur, and a beloved Employee of Pewabic Pottery for many years. Born and raised in Northern Michigan, Ben gravitated toward the arts from an early age, initially learning from his mother Jane. He studied Ceramics and Computer Animation at Kirtland Community College, and attended the University of Michigan from 1993-1996, studying Visual Arts.

Ben joined the staff of Pewabic Pottery in the fall of 2000, initially focusing on maintenance of Pewabic’s historic clay-making system and other contemporary and historic equipment, including kiln maintenance and other facilities work. He assisted in operations of the Kiln department during this period and was eventually made Manager of the Kiln Department in 2002, overseeing all kiln operations, final quality control, and coordinating completion and delivery of custom architectural projects. In 2004, Ben was made technical Designer, translating custom design projects from drawings into the technical documents necessary to begin the manufacturing process, and overseeing the logistics of coordinating and scheduling their manufacture. This role eventually evolved into the Fabrication Floor Manager; a role he held until departing the Pottery in 2007.

In addition to his various roles as an employee, Ben was heavily involved in other professional activities related to Ceramics both inside and outside of Pewabic during this period. In addition to being a long-term and much-loved instructor in the Pewabic Education Studio, he also taught workshops throughout the region on various alternate firing techniques including Raku and Salt-firing. He was heavily involved in the renovation of Pewabic’s Staff Ceramics Studio and acted as Staff Studio manager and Operations Committee Chair for many years. He served as a mentor to many Pewabic Employees in their own creative practices and was known for being an enthusiastic advocate of including and connecting various groups of staff and students. He was a person who created communities wherever he went and always strove to bring people together out of the love of the ceramic process itself, as well as the opportunities it created for people to share, learn and grow together. His most lasting and impactful contributions to the organization were most likely the kilns that he built there, again bringing groups of staff and students together to engage them in new processes and learning opportunities they hadn’t had access to before.

After leaving Michigan in 2007 with his wife Elizabeth, and moving to Bardstown, and eventually Shepherdsville, Kentucky, this tradition continued. He became an active member of local wood-firing communities, taking part in firings throughout Kentucky and Indiana, and continuing to make many life-long friends along the way. He continued to experiment with and build kilns professionally for local artists, a passion that continued throughout the rest of his life.

In 2013, teaching opportunities returned Ben and Elizabeth to Northern Michigan, where they settled just outside of West Branch. Ben continued his active involvement in wood-firing communities, traveling great distances to do so, and to continue to be a part of the communities and friendship groups he established during their time in Kentucky. Ben continued his passion for teaching at a local art center, and maintained his own studio practice, establishing a studio in the barn on their new property. He sold work regularly through the Lansing Art Gallery and was an active participant in local art fairs and other community arts events. 

After sadly being diagnosed with cancer in 2017, Ben made the decision to fulfill a long-time personal goal and build his own Hybrid Wood / Soda kiln on his property in Gladwin, again bringing together a massive group of friends and family to help, to participate, and to experience together. The kiln was dubbed “The Pizzagama” and incorporated a built-in pizza oven which operated by recycling waste heat generated by the firing. As his treatment progressed, Ben continued to make and fire pots, and to travel and continue to take part particularly in the wood-firing communities he had grown so close to over the years. His studio work continued until the very end of his life, supported and encouraged by the friends, colleagues and loved ones closest to him.