Born in 1939 in Memphis, Tennessee, Cynthia Bringle is a prominent and prolific studio potter with close ties to the Penland School of Craft. Bringle loved to draw from an early age, and she and her siblings – including twin sister Edwina – were encouraged by their parents to follow their interests. Upon entering the Memphis Academy of Art, she planned to study painting, but switched her focus to ceramics after a mandatory wheel-throwing class (BFA, 1962). While completing her undergraduate degree, she spent two summers at Haystack School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine, and was the first female hired as a studio assistant for its ceramics program. She knew she wanted to set up her own production studio, but enrolled at Alfred University to gain more experience first (MFA, 1962). An unabashed trailblazer, Bringle established her first pottery in Tennessee, and she soon began teaching at Penland. She was one of the first women to do so and faced skepticism throughout her early career. Bringle embraced openness as a solution, welcoming visitors and customers into her studio and mentoring thousands of students in her decades at Penland. Though unwaveringly dedicated to Penland, she has also hosted workshops at prominent craft schools around the world, including Anderson Ranch in Snowmass, Colorado, and the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina. Known for her expertise regardless of clay body, kiln, or glaze, Bringle now has more than half a century of experience working as a potter. In honor of her contributions to the field, she was selected to complete an oral history interview by the Smithsonian for the Archives of American Art and was named a North Carolina Living Treasure. Though her works have been collected by museums and exhibited widely, she’s quick to note that most are put to use in kitchens and homes. Cynthia Bringle was elected a Fellow of the American Craft Council in 2000.