Mel Cornshucker

Mel Cornshucker (born October 4, 1952) is a contemporary Cherokee potter living in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who works in stoneware, porcelain, and raku clay. Cornshucker is known for his high-fire stoneware, decorated with hand-painted, Native-inspired motifs and designs.

Early life Born and raised in Jay, Oklahoma, and a citizen of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, Cornshucker was inspired by other artists in his family including his grandfather, Lincoln Trotting Wolf's, talent for weaving. His grandfather built his own rug loom on which he made rugs and blankets on the front porch. Cornshucker's cousins were basket weavers and his father was a silversmith, allowing him several creative outlets in his youth. Cornshucker spent many summers with his Cherokee family in Jay. He had positive encouragement in public schools when he began making figurines out of wet plaster and metal sculptures.

Education After graduating high school in 1970, Cornshucker briefly attended Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma before transferring to Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri working to become a tribal lawyer. It was during this time, Cornshucker took college art class which sparked his interest in pottery. Cornshucker was hired in 1975 to work as an apprentice potter in the Missouri theme park, Silver Dollar City. This job opportunity allowed him a lot of room to grow because he was perfecting his art every day for three to four hours for tourists. He left Silver Dollar City in 1977 and moved to Colorado where he became a land surveyor. After six months, Cornshucker moved back home to set up his own studio in Kansas City, Missouri. the Santa Fe Indian Market, the in Phoenix, and the at Cahokia.

Awards 2007 Selected for a cultural artist exchange with South Africa, sponsored by the Kellogg Foundation and Institute of American Indian Art.

2014 winner of the modern pottery category for the Red Earth Native American Cultural Festival in Oklahoma.

2014 Greater Tulsa Indian Art Festival. Best of Show 2014 Greater Tulsa Area Indian Affairs Commission. Moscelyne Larkin Cultural Achievement Award.