Born in 1928 in Elwood, Indiana, Ken Ferguson - a powerful presence in American ceramics - melded a range of cultural traditions in his work. He is also widely considered one of the most influential educators in the ceramic arts, having taught John and Andrea Gill, Richard Notkin, Akio Takamori, and Kurt Weiser, among many other top professionals in the field. He studied at the American Academy of Art in Chicago and the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, where he received his BFA. In 1958 he earned his MFA from Alfred University, New York. He taught at various institutions, including the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana, and Alfred University. Beginning in 1964, he headed the ceramics department at the Kansas City Art Institute until retiring as professor emeritus in 1996. In addition to his work as an educator,  Ferguson had an active exhibition career; in 1995 his work was surveyed in exhibitions at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Kemper Museum of Art, both in Kansas City, Missouri. Ken Ferguson received the College Art Association’s Distinguished Teaching of Art Award in 1997 and the American Craft Council’s Gold Medal in 1998. He died in 2004.