Ellen Shankin received her BFA from the New York State School of Ceramics at Alfred. She has recieved a 1990 National Endowment Visual Arts Fellowship Grant and a 2001 Virginia Museum Grant. Shankin exhibits her work in shows and galleries throughout the United States. Her work is in the collections of numerous museums and has appeared in many periodicals and books of ceramic art. She serves on the Board of "Round the Mountain: Southwest Virginia's Artisan Network". Since 1992, she has led workshops and has been a guest lecturer and instructor in more than 50 universities, craft schools, and art centers.