UA Little Rock Alumna Launches Career in Ceramics with artLAUNCH Grant

Emma Estelle Chambers, a 2023 graduate of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, is finding creative ways to turn Arkansas earth into art.

Known professionally as Emma Estelle, Chambers is quickly establishing herself in the state’s arts scene through a combination of creative innovation, scientific research, and a growing body of ceramic work inspired by the natural world. As a recipient of UA Little Rock’s artLAUNCH grant for the 2024-25 year, Chambers has taken her passion for ceramics and transformed it into a growing career as a working artist and educator.

“My goal as an artist is to connect my work with the earth through the use of local clay, rocks, and minerals,” Chambers said. “artLAUNCH has enabled me to take two three-month workshops that delve into the chemistry of glazes, which will advance the glazes in my own work.”

Chambers, who earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting and is a graduate of the Donaghey Scholars Honors Program, originally focused on two-dimensional art. But her curiosity about materials and form led her to ceramics during her time at UA Little Rock. In 2021, she gained campus-wide recognition after winning a university mural competition with her vibrant 8×16-foot painting, “Koi,” located in Ottenheimer Library.

Now, Chambers is exploring new dimensions in her ceramic work using what she calls “wild pigments.” She uses natural Arkansas materials like iron ore, copper ore, and bauxite that she grinds, processes, and tests to develop unique glaze colors and textures. Her research-intensive process often involves creating dozens of test tiles for a single glaze to understand its chemical properties, artistic look, and textural feel.

“I came out of those workshops with a really strong foundation for how to assemble glazes and what materials are needed and what they do,” she said. “Since then, I’ve been replacing common materials with wild pigments. That knowledge has been essential in helping me understand and control the subtle variations in color and texture that these natural materials produce.”

Thanks to artLAUNCH, Chambers was able to purchase her own small test kiln and professional camera equipment to further her studio practice and document her work. She now works as a studio technician at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, primarily in the ceramics department, where she’s learning to operate both electric and gas kilns.

In addition to her work at AMFA, Chambers teaches young students in Stuttgart and sells her artwork online and at local retailers including Red Door Gallery, South Main Creative, the Green Corner Store, and Box Turtle.

“Emma’s deliberate and intentional approach to her work is genuinely inspiring,” said Michele Noiset, assistant professor of illustration at UA Little Rock. “Her thoughtful exploration of Arkansas’s natural resources—paired with a deep curiosity about how these materials can be transformed—demonstrates a powerful connection between process and outcome. It’s a privilege to witness her creative journey and to see how each discovery meaningfully shapes her artistic practice.”

Her recent work display at the artLAUNCH exhibition featured two large boards of test tiles showcasing over 150 glaze variations, as well as a collection of small vessels and vases inspired by ancient forms and decorated with Arkansas wildflowers.

“The vessel symbolizes sharing things with other people,” Chambers said. “I feel like that parallels my collection of pigments, putting them into glazes, and showing them to others. It’s a shape that’s both universal and ancient.”

In June, Chambers received a second major grant. She is among 25 Arkansas artists selected for the third cohort of Catalyze, a program of Mid-America Arts Alliance. Recipients receive a $10,000 grant to support practice-based research. Her focus for this project is to source every ingredient for her ceramic glazes—silica, fluxes, clay, and colorants—from Arkansas.

“The goal is to make items that are 100 percent sourced from Arkansas materials,” she said. “It’s a way to form an intimate connection with the land I live on and to share that connection with others through my work.”

For Chambers, who once questioned whether she was “good enough” to pursue art professionally, the last few years have been transformative.

“With the Donaghey Scholars Program, I had the support to pursue something riskier, something I was passionate about,” she said. “I don’t think my career would be the same without UA Little Rock and the artLAUNCH opportunity.”

To view more of her work, visit Emma Estelle’s portfolio here and view her pieces from the artLAUNCH exhibit here.