Ballard’s life’s work has been centered around observing and interpreting our universal world, and its abundant life forms, into transcendent sculptural statements as a continuing reminder of the deep interconnectedness of all things.

Alice Ballard is a master ceramic sculptor born in Florence, SC. Ballard spent her formative years traveling and living around the world, including Paris, France, with her Air Force family before settling in her current home in Upstate South Carolina.

Alice received her Masters Degree in Art from the University of Michigan before becoming a professional artist and educator. Her teaching experience spans five decades and includes artist residencies in southern Alaska, leading classrooms at Charlotte Country Day in the mid-80s, positions at Francis Marion University, Coastal Carolina, Penland School of Crafts, Arrowmont Craft School, the SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, and Christ Church Episcopal Middle School. Ballard has also led multiple museum workshops including sessions at the Greenville County Museum of Art. Her steadfast commitment to craft and mentorship was formally recognized in 2019 with an Honorary Doctorate Degree in the Arts from Wofford College.

As a recipient of a Fulbright Grant, Ballard studied in India, was one of eight ceramic artists to be invited to the International Ceramic Colony in Resen, Macedonia, has been supported by the NEA, and received two South Carolina Arts Commission Individual Fellowships. She was awarded an MAC grant through West Virginia University and spent a summer studying in China.

She has had solo shows at the Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC, and the Greenville County Museum of Art in Greenville, SC. A series of ceramic sculptures, “Wild Garlic,” resides in the collections of the Renwick Museum of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC, Arrowmont School, the Mint Museum of Art, and the Greenville County Museum of Art. Ballard’s work traveled as part of “Tradition/Innovation: American Masterpieces of Southern Craft & Traditional Art,” an exhibition organized by Art South and Knoxville Museum of the Art.

Alice recently retired from the classroom but maintains a studio practice in Clover, SC, under the watchful eye of her architect husband, Roger Dalrymple, and their two loving standard poodles. She is pictured here in her beloved garden, just steps away from her home studio, designed and built for her by Roger.

Ballard is represented by Blue Spiral 1 in Asheville, NC, and Cerbera Gallery in Kansas City, MO.