Marla Benton

Marla Benton is a ceramic artist and educator living and working in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia. Benton has balanced working in her studio and teaching ceramic workshops. Both Benton’s gallery work and installation art encourage personal connection through text and surprising elements that challenge expectations, evoke curiosity, and encourage interactions and participation.

Originally from small town Ontario, she attended the Ontario College of Art & Design, where she found clay her preferred medium. After transferring to the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design, Benton completed her degree with a major in ceramics, studying under Walter Ostrom, Neil Forrest and Rory MacDonald. A few years later, she earned her second degree from Nipissing University (BED).

Benton’s work has been published/exhibited in Canada and the USA.  She has received Creation Grants from Arts NS, ArtsSmarts Grants from the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, and participated in Artist Residencies.  Benton presently sits on the Board of Craft Nova Scotia as a Director-at-Large.

Artist Statement

Clay allows for function and sculpture to mix or be completely separate.  My style varies depending on context and purpose; pushing the boundaries of sensibility leads me from pure function, to functional decoration, to purely decorative.

My work is playful. I love to be challenged with the scale and perspective of a piece. The scale of a creation changes how we look and feel about the piece. I strive to create pieces that people think about days after seeing them.

Incorporating an interactive aspect to my work is very important, whether it be on a functional, sculptural or installation piece of art.  Being able to touch, move or engage with a piece allows there to be a deeper connection to the art.  The interaction leaves an emotional, mental and physical memory of the art.

Alongside interaction, I have an interest in ergonomics and how a person would come in contact with an object.  I enjoy being able to play with the complexities of how to handle a piece of art.  Beside physically touching or moving my art pieces, I often engage an interaction with my work through decoration; this is where I hope to first capture attention and curiosity.

- Marla Benton, 2023