20 years of gleena
Since 2004, my ceramics practice has continuously evolved and thrived—through both failures and wins. With six home and studio relocations over the past 20 years, clay (gleena in Russian) has been my steadfast companion—a constant source of inspiration and motivation.
Here are a few pivotal moments that stand out in gleena’s journey:
June 2004 : As part of my RISD thesis, “chant” – a slip-cast porcelain installation in Martina & Co’s storefront (Providence, RI), placed me on my path to establishing gleena ceramics studio.
October 15th 2004 : first studio in Pawtucket, RI, gleena is born.
2005 : gleena collection is featured in Rhode Island Monthly magazine.
2006 : first sculptural/functional installation, plates with Rumi poem. curated by Susie Nielsen of farm projects.
2008 : set up at the Brooklyn Flea, NY.
2010 : second studio in Pawtucket, RI, at the height of production days.
2011 : collection of dishes made exclusively for ABC in New York City.
2014 : NY Now Set Up at the Javitz Convention Center in Manhattan.
2016 : brick and mortar gleena ceramics shop opens on S. Taylor and Cedar in Cleveland Heights, OH.
2019 : scenes from the cozy gleena ceramics shop on S. Taylor. Bernie, my pup, grew up there.
2020 : the pandemic closed the brick and mortar on S. Taylor, and gleena moved into The Hildebrandt Building in the Clark/Fulton area of Cleveland.
Since the pandemic, I have expanded my studio to also offer website design, consulting, and project-based coaching to fellow creatives.
Some of you I met at the wholesale and retail shows at which I exhibited, some at my brick and mortar shop, and some I met recently at The Hildebrandt Building. Some of you I have only met online.
Thank you all for supporting me for the past two+ decades. I am grateful to continue this work that feeds my soul and brings you joy, and am excited to see it evolve even further.
To read more about my inspiration, process, wins and fails please visit My Mama’s Table, a blog I started in 2008.