Caroline Freese has always enjoyed being surrounded by animals. Her Indianola, Iowa, ceramics studio is lined with bold roosters, portly swine, and regal felines reminiscent of her childhood days growing up on a nearby farm.
Freese (’16 integrated studio arts) adorns ceramics with decals of original folk animal paintings. She also creates and sells custom acrylic paintings on wood, printed pillows, greeting cards, stickers, and coloring books for children and adults.
The daughter of Betsy (’84 agricultural journalism) and Robert (’83 animal science, ’87 veterinary medicine), Freese says creating animal-inspired art is a fitting nod to her heritage, passions, and statement as an artist.
“I am following in my parent’s footsteps, but I am still getting to create my own path,” says Freese. “I had the drive to be a leader and business owner.”
Freese entered Iowa State with an undeclared major and credits a mix of coincidences for leading her to the pottery studio.
“I sat down on the wheel my junior year and threw for the first time. I was obsessed for a while, all I wanted to do was go in and throw,” she says.
Her work has been featured at national and regional events, winning first place in the 2022 Iowa State Fair Fine Art Competition pottery category and an honorable mention in the mixed media category in 2021. She also was selected as an emerging young artist in 2021 at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival in Colorado—one of the country’s largest and most selective art shows.
Freese mentors students, hosts Iowa State University interns, and stays active in the art community as a member of Creative Artists Studios of Ames (CASA). She was awarded the Ames Community Arts Council’s 2021 Hazel Hammer Cherished Volunteer Award and received a 2022 Outstanding Young Alumni Award from the ISU College of Design.
Freese’s work is available at Iowa State’s Innovate 1858 shop in the Student Innovation Center, the Octagon Center for the Arts, and Knittery Nook and Fiber Co. in Ames, Iowa; the Mary Rose Collection in Perry, Iowa; and www.etsy.com where customers can request custom designs.