Reuben IronHorse-Kent

Reuben IronHorse-Kent Ceramics Buffalo Clan of the Ioway Peoples White Cloud, Kansas
Reuben IronHorse-Kent is the second of four sons. His mother taught him beadwork when he was young, and he later taught himself to sew, making his own ribbon shirts and other clothing. He began making raku pottery in his 30s, as an undergraduate student at the Institute for American Indian Arts, where he later returned for an MFA in creative writing. Reuben is an enrolled member of the Iowa(y) Tribe of Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska, with familial ties to the Otoe-Missouria and Kickapoo tribes, as well as French and Hispanic heritage.
Primarily known for his ceramic works in the Japanese raku and Oneota traditions, he is also a painter and continues to create beadwork. He uses commercial as well as hand-dug river clay, processing it with mica. Turning to his background in fiber arts and beadwork, he embellishes his Night Dancer figures with feathers, beads, and embroidery thread. His ceramic work can be seen at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is included in the textbook, Hands in Clay: An Introduction to Ceramics, edited by Charlotte F. Speight and John Toki. Reuben received the 2017 Oscar Howe Memorial Award for Best Abstract Painting.