Mel Bolen was born in 1947 in Regina, Saskatchewan, and graduated from the Fine Arts Program of the University of Regina in 1971. He then led the University's Extension Pottery Department from 1972 to 1976 before establishing a permanent art practice in Humboldt, Saskatchewan in the late 70s. Bolen was a long-time member of the Saskatchewan Craft Council, and is known for his functional ware — bowls, platters, vases — as well as his more experimental ceramic sculpture.
Mel Bolen’s work has appeared in over 80 exhibitions worldwide, and is included in many public and corporate art collections, such as the Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery, Humboldt Museum, and University of Regina President’s Collection. Mel Bolen died in September 2024, in Humboldt, at the age of 77.
