Bede works in earthenware and stoneware, woodfiring and reduction firing in a gas kiln.
He has been the Professor of Art, at University of Missouri since 1992.
“I have always cast a pretty wide net in terms of my exploration of clay. Pots and the vessel have held the center but there has been a strong overlay of interest in drawing, color and leaving a trace of the hand. In this work I am trying to occupy the world that has always made the most sense to me, the little world, which paradoxically holds such huge potential for joy.”
Bede’s work is found in collections in the U.S. and abroad, such as the: University of Northern Arizona, Ichon World Ceramic Center, Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Racine Art Museum, South Bend Museum of Art and the Martin Museum of Art.