Addyson Aftanas is a ceramic and mixed-media artist based in Appalachia. She works primarily in clay and incorporates natural and reclaimed materials such as bone, fur, textiles, and wood into her work. Her practice focuses on themes of death, ecology, grief, and the generational weight of women’s work. Through sculpture and installation, Aftanas examines how the body, both human and animal, interacts with its environment, and how materials can reflect cycles of loss, care, and renewal.

Her process is grounded in hands-on making. She uses craft and material history to consider how objects hold memory and how they can speak to the relationships people form with the natural world. Much of her work draws from Appalachian traditions and the region’s ecological challenges, connecting personal experience with broader environmental and social issues.

Aftanas has her BFA in Visual Arts from Marshall University. Her work has been supported by a Creative Discovery Grant for research driven work, multiple exhibition awards, and a six-week residency at Chautauqua Institution in New York. She has exhibited both regionally and nationally, building a body of work that reflects her interest in understanding complex ideas and relationships through making.