A Gary, Indiana, man finds positivity and community outreach through his artistry
Ryan Bennett plants trees for a living.
He’s always had a love for the earth, and making things from his own two hands. Bennett finds it therapeutic to have an end result he can be proud of.
Through his passions in conservation efforts and studio art ceramics, Bennett lives to make a difference in his hometown, specifically in areas where people need an extra hand. He works to spread his own message that we are in control of the changes we want to make in our world.
“The qualities of the world are as malleable as the finest clay and can only be as good as the practices to form them,” Ryan says.
Ryan’s hometown of Gary, Indiana, was recently named the No. 1 most miserable city in the United States by Business Insider, the largest business news site on the web.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, which was also used by Business Insider in their article, Gary is populated by over 75,000 residents, which is down by 6.3% from 2010. Of that, 35.8% live in poverty, and 15.6% are without health insurance. Gary was once an industrial mecca being so close to Chicago, but when large companies, mainly in steel, left the area after the 1960s and took their factories and mills with them, residents were left scrambling for jobs and other sources of income.
Ryan began running his own pottery business, Infinite Roots Pottery, after having a surplus of handmade pieces while in school at Indiana University Northwest earning his bachelor’s in fine arts. His brother introduced the idea of selling, and he started at a small farmers market with one table and a sharpie-made sign.
“That was pretty neat that somebody thought so much of my work to take it home. That’s where it all started, and I’ll just be doing a farmers market, and then every market somebody is coming up telling me about another market,” Ryan says. “It just becomes somewhat of a networking thing.”
Networking has proven to be what Ryan relies on for his work in his community as he uses his art to inspire others and love for conservation to manage community outreach programs.
Ryan started his journey with the community the summer before his freshman year of college, when he joined a Summer Bridge program through IU Northwest.
Summer Bridge acted as a “metaphorical bridge” for Ryan and his fellow classmates when they were freshmen coming into college. He liked that sense of feeling stuck with them, and he still stays in contact with some today. His own dream currently includes heading up a program like Summer Bridge that can teach and encourage the youth around him, even if they do not want to be potters. Until then, he has been involved in African American Achievers and Brother to Brother, both of which inspire creativity in young men from the area, something that has been lacking in Gary.
With many people needing guidance, Ryan stuck around after graduation to stay in Gary and be there for his neighbors. He saw many people wanting to leave after school, but he was drawn back home. His motto of turning nothing into something beautiful is seen through his use of ceramics in particular, which is what he hopes to reach more people with.
“I love being on earth, and I think that’s a part of why I’m so drawn to clay. I’m not only an artist, I’m a geologist, I’m a biologist, and all this stuff kind of bundled into one. I love just getting out there and learning different stuff,” Ryan says.
Ryan now works for the nonprofit Student Conservation Association, further employing the idea of bettering the world around him. One of his most recent projects involved planting gardens of food for a men’s shelter in Gary and teaching sustainable living.
Ryan’s artwork can be found on both Instagram and Facebook under Infinite Roots Pottery, and he is looking to sell his work online in the future. His work and efforts are one piece of the larger project that will bring a name back to Gary.
“I’m so appreciative of the things that I have and the things that I’ve come to,” Ryan says.
