About Grace
Grace E. Calleja is a 5th generation Key West native. Her work is influenced by the natural beauty of her island home, year round foliage, blue cloudless skies and the ever changing ocean. As a young adult, Grace was a budding artist in several mediums, particularly watercolor and acrylic painting. She attended her first pottery course during her senior year at Boston University. Once she learned to “center” she was enamored with clay and it has been her passion ever since. Grace has a Bachelor of Fine Arts, cum laude, from BU. She also studied art history at El Prado and La Reina Sophia museums in Madrid, Spain and attended extension pottery courses at the studios of Radcliffe College in Cambridge, MA. During the summers of 2004 and 2005 she combined both her love of pottery and travel. In 2004 she attended a workshop at La Meridiana in the Tuscan Region of Italy. In 2005 she attended a wood-fire workshop in Ireland. Both experiences still influence her work today. In 2006 she was a recipient of the Anne McKee Artist Grant as well as the Richard Heyman award for a new artist. Grace is widely known for her functional pottery. Her bright colors and tasteful designs are her signature look. In addition to her signature lines, Grace is embarking on a new series called, “Sgraffito”. This work involves a surface decoration technique where the design is carved away from a colored slip to reveal the white clay body beneath. Grace is a respected member of the co-op Gallery Key West, where her work is displayed year round at 824 Duval Street, Key West, FL. She lives in Key West and spends the majority of her time in her studio creating new work. Grace is also a volunteer artist for the Just 4 Kids Art Organization where she teaches under privileged kids various art techniques. Currently, Grace is training for the Swim Around Key West, June 6. She is the first leg of a 3 person relay team. She has also discovered the joys and sorrows of golf and plays whenever she has the chance. Occasionally she gets off the rock to travel, play golf, and spend time on the water. Sgraffito.htmlshapeimage_2_link_0
My Dad and I at a wood-fire pottery workshop in Ireland during the summer of 2005.
 
• island girl
• loves to travel
• avid golfer
• loves to cook