Tip Toland of Vaughn, Washington, is a full-time studio artist and a part-time instructor in Seattle. She conducts workshops across the United States, Europe, Australia, Mexico, and Taiwan. She received her MFA from Montana State University in 1981.

Her work is in public and private collections, including the Yellowstone Art Museum, the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian, Nelson Atkins Museum, The Crocker Museum, St. Petersburg Museum of Art, the Daum Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Arizona State University Ceramics Research Center, the Eleanor Wilson Museum at Hollins University, Kohler Arts Center, Portland Art Museum, Racine Art Museum, Yingge Ceramics Museum, Zanesville Museum of Art, Fuller Craft Museum, and the Icheon Museum of Ceramics.

“Her sculptures depict the human condition in all of its ugly and beautiful moments," said ACC Awards Committee Member Susan Cummins. "Brilliant."