JUSTIN ROTHSHANK
Justin Rothshank is a nationally recognized ceramic artist, educator, author, and community builder. Since establishing his studio practice in northern Indiana in 2009, Justin has become one of the leading voices in contemporary American ceramics, creating work that is exhibited, collected, and published internationally while helping shape the future of clay through education, advocacy, and collaboration.
Known for his richly layered surfaces and narrative imagery, Justin’s work explores themes of history, place, community, and social responsibility. His ceramics have been featured in Ceramics Monthly, American Craft, Studio Potter, The Log Book, among numerous other books and publications. His work is held in public and private collections across the United States, including the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, the Frick Museum in Pittsburgh, the Museum of Fine Arts in Springfield, Massachusetts, and the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts in Texas.
An accomplished educator and author, Justin has presented workshops, lectures, demonstrations, and residencies at universities, conferences, schools, and art centers throughout the United States and abroad. He is the author of Low Fire Soda, published by Ceramic Arts Network in 2020, and creator of the instructional video Ceramic Decals: New Ideas and Techniques, which has introduced countless artists to new approaches in surface design and storytelling through clay.
Before returning to Indiana, Justin co-founded the Union Project in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a nationally recognized nonprofit organization that transformed a historic church into a vibrant community arts center. His leadership there earned numerous awards for historic preservation, community engagement, and social innovation, establishing a foundation for the community-centered work that would later define much of his career.
Justin is also a co-founder of the Michiana Pottery Tour, the Northern Indiana Clay Alliance (NICA), and the Indiana Clay Conference - organizations that have become essential gathering places for artists throughout the Midwest. Through these efforts, he has helped create opportunities for education, professional development, mentorship, and collaboration, strengthening the region’s reputation as a vibrant clay community.
Most recently, Justin’s work as a community builder was featured in the March 2026 issue of Ceramics Monthly in Alex Paat’s article Kiln Firing Connections. The article traces the fourteen-year history of the wood kiln at Justin’s Goshen studio, exploring how it evolved from a firing facility into what many participants describe as a “third space” - a place where artists gathered to work, learn, mentor, and build lasting relationships through shared experiences around the fire.
Over the years, the kiln became a training ground for emerging artists, hosting interns, apprentices, workshops, and collaborative firings that connected potters from across the Midwest and beyond. The article highlights how many of the friendships, creative partnerships, and community initiatives that now define the Michiana clay region grew from conversations, late-night firing shifts, and shared labor beneath the kiln shed.
Rather than measuring its impact solely by the pottery it produced, Kiln Firing Connections examines the kiln’s deeper legacy: the people it brought together. The story serves as a powerful reflection of Justin’s broader contribution to the ceramic field - creating spaces where artists can connect, learn from one another, and build communities that endure long after the firing is complete.
