David Hiltner
"Bird Trophy"
Soda Fired Porcelain
10 x 8 x 8"
100% donation by artist

David Hiltner is currently the Executive Director of Red Lodge Clay Center in Red Lodge, Montana. In the summer of 2005 David and his family moved to Montana to establish the Red Lodge Clay Center. Prior to moving to Red Lodge David was an Assistant Professor of Ceramics at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas. Before joining the faculty at Wichita State University in 1999, he taught at Syracuse University, Northwest College, and at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. He received his B.F.A in Ceramics from Wichita State University in 1993 and completed his M.F.A at Syracuse University in 1997.

Shalene Valenzuela
"Hung Up - Pink Tangle"
Slipcast earthenware, underglaze, glaze, 2024
9"x4"x5"
100% donation by artist

Shalene Valenzuela was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California. She received a BA in Art Practice at the University of California at Berkeley and an MFA in Ceramics from California College of Arts and Crafts. She has participated in artist residencies at the Archie Bray Foundation, The Clay Studio of Missoula, Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, and the LH Project and has taught at Flathead Valley Community College, University of Montana, Oregon College of Art and Craft, and various art centers in Montana and California. Shalene has been a guest artist and speaker at several art centers, colleges, and universities and her work has been featured in many group and solo exhibitions nationally and internationally. She currently serves as the executive director at the Clay Studio of Missoula. Shalene is the recipient of the Artist's Innovation Award in Ceramics (2013) and an ARPA Grant (2021) from the Montana Arts Council.

Casey Zablocki
"Vase"
Woodfired Ceramic
13 x 4 x 12"
100% donation by artist

Casey Zablocki was born and raised in the Upper Peninsula. He received his BFA from Finlandia University and studied ceramic design in Kuopio, Finland. He has studied as an apprentice to Peter Callas and designer/artist Hun-Chung Lee. He did post baccalaureate studies at Montana State University for one year. Casey was the Woodfire resident at the Clay Studio of Missoula from 2013-2015, and currently maintains an active studio practice in Missoula.

Richard Notkin
"Those Who Do Not Learn #1"
Ceramic, saw dust fired, wood mounted
3x5.5x1.25"
100% donation by artist

Richard Notkin (Vaughn, Washington) is a studio artist who has created ceramic sculptures and teapots laden with social and political commentary for more than five decades. His art is in more than 70 museum collections throughout America, Europe and Asia. Among his awards are three Individual Artist Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, and grants from the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, Tiffany Foundation, and the Hoi Fellowship from United States Artists. Notkin is a Fellow of the American Craft Council, received the Honorary Membership Award from NCECA, and Meloy Stevenson Award from the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts.

Karen Van Galder
Byron
Soda Fired Stoneware, 8x8x14"
100% donation by artist

Having lived in many places, I have never encountered such a dynamic and inspiring community of artists, nor such a rich variety of firing techniques to explore as there are in Missoula. My recent body of work delves into the wildlife of the Northwest and the profound connection that native cultures have with the land and its creatures. Through sculpting, I seek to evoke a sense of wisdom, resilience, and quiet strength-especially in older beings whose stories are etched into their forms. My goal is to create pieces that not only capture a viewer's interest but also invite them to reflect on the depth and spirit of the subject. Each sculpture is a narrative, a moment suspended in time that speaks to the enduring relationship between nature and humanity.

Krissy Ramirez
"Saguaro Jar"
Earthenware, glaze, underglaze
10x6x 6"
100% donation by artist

Born and raised in the border town of Douglas, AZ, Krissy discovered her enthusiasm for clay at Cochise College. Furthering her education, she received a BFA with an emphasis in ceramics from Western New Mexico University in 2017. Then, after completing a 2 year artist in residence program at WNMU she moved to Montana without visiting the big sky. During her time in Missoula she has been part of; the post-baccalaureate program at the University of Montana, co-founded and was a resident artist at Wildfire Ceramic Studio and is currently making work in a new private space called Speakeasy Clay Studio alongside other amazing artists. Krissy is currently a resident artist at The Clay Studio of Missoula.

Ryan Matthew Mitchell
"Arrangement"
Media: stoneware and porcelain.
24x13x7"
DONATED BY MO GARY

Ryan Matthew Mitchell (b. 1978) currently holds the position of Program Development Director at Jingdezhen Taoxichuan International Studio in Jingdezhen, China. He received his MFA from the University of Montana in 2005 and continued to reside in Missoula, Montana from 2005-2007 as a resident artist at The Clay Studio of Missoula. Since his years in Montana, Ryan has been selected for several artist-in-residence programs. In 2007 he was a resident at Australia National University in Canberra. He participated as a resident artist at the LH Project in Joseph, Oregon in 2008 and 2009. He was selected as one the first Americans to be an artist-in-resident at the FuLe International Ceramic Art Museums in Xi'An, China and has since participated in the residencies of Suzhou University in Suzhou China (2015), the Artists for The Western Forests of Thailand with the Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary (2015), and the Meikong River residency in Changrai, Thailand (2015).

Ryan was a resident artist at The Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis (2010), receiving the prestigious 2010 McKnight mid-career residency fellowship. While working in Montana, Ryan designed/built kilns, instructed ceramic courses/workshops, and shared a passion for the development of ceramics in the western states; Ryan now extends his contributive spirit globally to make significant contributions to the Arts and Culture in China. Ryan has curated or been featured as an artist in 12 exhibitions and has arranged for more than forty international artists to visit and create their art in China. Ryan is recognized widely for his energetic and creative output. He is also regarded for a visual language that has evolved through the blending of disparate elements of concept, materials, expression, process and craft. Displaying confidence and a fluency of materials, Ryan's artwork asserts the importance of the maker as force and voice, but at the same time denies the logic of personal or particular narrative conventions and representations. The resulting works speak to the complex nature of shared experience. Ryan has been featured in solo exhibitions at the Holter Museum of Art (Helena, MT), Bentley Projects (Phoenix, AZ), Plinth gallery (Denver, CO) LillStreet Art Center (Chicago, Il), Biasa Art Space (Bali, Indonesia), and Jest Gallery (Whitefish, Montana).

Kayla Noble
"Bookends"
Woodfired stoneware
10x9x6" each
100% donation by artist

Kayla Noble is a woodfire artist born and raised in New York's Hudson Valley. She holds a BFA in ceramics from the State University of New York at New Paltz, completed a long term artist residency at Taos Clay (Taos. NM), and has taught and given workshops at numerous community studios in New York State. Noble's practice is rooted in functional pottery; she crafts vessels in conversation with communal action, rituals of food cultivation, and the relationship of service and containment. She owes much of her exposure to clay and reverence for craftsmanship to her grandfather, Brad Benn, a practicing potter and harpsichord builder. Kayla is currently the wood fire resident artist at The Clay Studio of Missoula.

Renee Brown
"Plum Wulfenite on Olivivan"
Ceramic, optical resin, multi media
8.5 x 10 x 5"
100% donation by artist

Renée Brown spent many summer days playing in the creek bed next to her home growing up in Conyers Georgia. Clay has always been under her nails. In 2002 Brown left the Interior design field to pursue her MFA in Ceramics at the University of North Texas. Upon receiving her degree, she completed several artist residencies in Montana including: The Archie Bray Foundation, Red Lodge Clay Center, and The Clay Studio of Missoula. She now maintains a studio in her home in Missoula, Montana.

Chris Alveshere
"Orange Teapot"
Colored Porcelain, cone 9, electric fired
7 x 8 5"
100% donation by artist

Chris Alveshere is an artist, educator, and co-owner of Workroom Montana, a community arts space in Missoula, MT, and Flecks + Specks, a ceramic grog business. He currently teaches adult and youth community education classes in addition to maintaining a full-time studio practice. Originally from North Dakota, Chris received undergraduate degrees in ceramics

and art education from Minnesota State University in Moorhead, MN and his MFA in ceramics from Alfred University.

Austin Coudriet & Matthew O'Reilly Collaboration
Stoneware, glaze, wood fired
44x13x7"

A collaborative work between two former long term resident artists donated for the Potsketch Auction

Austin was born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska. In 2019 he earned his BFA with a dual emphasis in sculpture and ceramics from the University of Nebraska- Lincoln. There he focused on fabricating large ceramic sculptures and expanding his skills in the wood shop. Austin most recently was a long-term resident at the Clay Art Center in Port Chester, NY (2019-2021). During the start of the global pandemic, Austin moved back to Nebraska for six months, where he held a fellowship position at the LUX Center for the Arts. In 2019, Austin founded a ceramic collective group called Mud Ties and currently leads both the Social Outreach and the Social Media team. Austin was a long term resident at the Clay Studio of Missoula from 2021-23 and is currently a resident artist at the Archie Bray Foundation.

Matthew is a Canadian artist interested in the complexity of a person, catalyzing conversation, and figurative ceramics. He completed his MFA at the Alberta University for the Arts and was an artist in residence at the Medalta Clay Center before arriving at the Clay Studio of Missoula as a resident from 2022-2024. Currently, Matthew is the Residency Arts Technician at the Bemis Art Center in Omaha, Nebraska, mentoring residents and overseeing the sculpture studio.

Ethan Arias
"Tall Sodafired Vase"
Stoneware, Sodafired, Slipped
6.25x 6.25x 20"

Ethan, a Coral Springs, Florida native, started studying ceramics in 2021 at the University of North Florida. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Engineering Studies with a focus in Fine Arts Materials and minors in Marketing and Ceramics in May of 2024. While in his undergraduate studies he earned two research grants to enhance his study of ceramics materials. As an artist, Ethan is focused on wheel-thrown, functional ceramics that are fired in atmospheric kilns. Ethan is currently a long term resident at the Clay Studio of Missoula

Peter VandenBerge
"Cat Man Do"
Glazed earthenware ceramic
Measurements: 9 x 5 5/8 x 4" man, 9.5 x 6.25" cat on fire brick, and others

DONATED BY THE ESTATE OF KATHERINE HEATH

Born in the Hague, Netherlands in 1935 and trained in the United States, Peter VandenBerge has enjoyed a successful career that spans several decades. He received his B.A. from CSU, Sacramento in 1959 and his M.A. from UC Davis in 1963. VandenBerge has taught classes at State University of New York, College of Ceramics at Alfred University, University of Washington, Seattle. He taught ceramics at California State University, Sacramento for over 30 years.

His work has been exhibited at the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento; San Francisco M.O.M.A; Smithsonian Institute, Washington D.C.; Oakland Art Museum; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; and many others. VandenBerge was also included in a traveling exhibition from the Museum of Decorative Arts, featured in the Louvre, Paris and other major cities.

Phil Mahn
"Storage Jar"
Thrown, altered, slip/sgraffito, wood fired
21 x 16"
100% donation by artist

Philip Mahn was born and raised in Great Falls and currently lives near Missoula. His development as a potter has been through independent study, mentoring, and a variety of community ceramic studios like the Paris Gibson Square, The Clay Studio of Missoula, University of Montana, and the Archie Bray Foundation. His work is a collaboration of the intuitive interaction with clay and the embracement of the firing processes that make it uniquely ceramic.

Alison Reintjes
"Vase"
Slab-built and press-molded stoneware
11.5 x 6.5 x 6.5"

Alison Reintjes first moved to Montana in 2001 for a residency at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena. She has completed additional residencies at Greenwich House Pottery in New York, Jentel in Wyoming, Mount St. Francis in southern Indiana, and the Clay Studio of Missoula. She has exhibited at the Oregon College of Arts & Crafts, AKAR Gallery, Museu de Cera mica de l'Alcora in Spain, ASU Ceramic Research Center, Lill Street Art Center and the Northern Clay Center.

Julia Galloway
"Urn for the Southern Sea Otter"
USFW - Iisted as threatened in 1977
Wheel thrown and carved porcelain with underglaze, 2023
11x6x6"

Julia Galloway is a potter and a professor at the University of Montana, Missoula. Julia has exhibited and lectured at more than 300 venues across the United States, Canada, and Asia and her work is in the collections of the Smithsonian, the American Museum of Ceramic Art, and Alfred Ceramics Art Museum. She has served on the Board of NCECA, the Archie Bray Foundation, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts and the Green Task Force. Julia was awarded a United States Artist Grant, the NCECA 2023 Fellows Council Award, and was named a Distinguished Scholar at the University of Montana, first person in the arts to receive this award since 1986.

Josh Deweese
"Serving Dish"
Local Earthenware Cone 04 Oxidation
9 x 9.5 x 2"
100% donation by artist

Josh DeWeese is a ceramic artist and educator. He is currently a Professor of Art teaching ceramics at Montana State University in Bozeman, where he and his wife Rosalie Wynkoop have a home and studio. DeWeese served as Resident Director of the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts in Helena, Montana from 1992-2006. He holds an MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred, and a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute. DeWeese has exhibited and taught workshops internationally and his work is included in numerous public and private collections.

Perry Haas
"Vase"
Wood Fired Porcelain
17 x 8 x 17"
100 % donation by artist

Perry Haas has been working with clay since 2003. He studied at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove, Illinois and Utah State University where he received his BFA. Perry has been a resident artist in Denmark at Guldagergaard , The Archie Bray Foundation, Clay Studio of Missoula and the Red Lodge Clay Center. Haas's work continues to evolve and has been seen in numerous collections. He is inspired by the mountains and streams of the landscape that surrounds him in Montana. Currently Perry lives and works out of his home studio in Clancy, Montana.

Crista Ann Ames
"Boots"
Slip cast Porcelain
6 x 5.5 x 5.5"
100% donation by artist

Crista Ann Ames is a studio artist and teaching artist living in Ellensburg, Washington. Raised on a small hobby farm, she often draws on her own experiences to explore pastoral life, animal husbandry, women's craft and fertility.

Crista received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics with a minor in Art History and Disability Studies from Washington State University. She went on to attend Utah State University for Post Baccalaureate studies in Ceramics. While receiving her Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Montana she began studying dance and movement to help inform the way she sculpts the figure.

Robert Harrison
"Montana Wild Double Arch House"
Multifired Extruded whiteware clay, china paint, ceramics decals + glaze
9x9x9"

100% donation by artist

Robert Harrison is a practicing artist who lives and works in Helena, Montana, USA. He has built his 30+ year career in the large-scale site-specific architectural sculpture realm along with smaller-scale studio activity out of his Granitewood Studio just west of Helena.

He holds BFA and MFA degrees in Ceramics and is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics (Geneva), founding member of the World Association of Brick Artists (WABA) and Fellow of NCECA (the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts). His exhibition and installation record is global and extensive.

Yve Holtzclaw
"Ten Sticks"
Clay, Glaze, Slip
24x11x22"
100% donation by artist

Yve is a genderqueer artist and educator originally from Atlanta, GA. Since graduating from Massachusetts College of Art and Design with their BFA in ceramics and art history in 2020, they have been awarded the Donis. A. Dondis travel grant, completed a residency in ceramics at the Kalamazoo Institute of Art, and organized shows both locally and nationally. Their work focuses on the intersection of the metaphysical and the tender through immersive and nostalgic installations of anthropomorphized climate, animals, and architecture. Yve is currently a long term resident at the Clay Studio of Missoula.

Kensuke Yamada
"Head"
Ceramic and Graphite
4 x 4 x 4"
75% donation by artist

Originally from Japan, Kensuke earned his MFA from the University of Montana in 2009 and a BA from Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. He has participated in many artist residency programs and visiting artist opportunities, including The Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana, and The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally and is included in various museum and institutional collections. He is currently an assistant professor at Chico State University in Chico, CA.

Heather Lepp
"Angular Vase"
Soda fired earthenware
13.5x3x10.75"

Heather is an artist and educator originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She received her BFA from the University of Manitoba, and her MFA from West Virginia University, and has apprenticed with four professional potters. She has been an artist in residence at Medalta (2019) and Red Lodge Clay Center (Summer 2023) and was awarded the Marilyn Levitt Prize in Functional Ceramics from the Manitoba Arts Council. She is inspired to create pottery that fits a need in her daily life with an emphasis equally placed on beauty and practicality. Heather is currently a long term resident at the Clay Studio of Missoula

Jon Bonnicksen
Rosemary
Ceramic, flashing slip, and crackle clear, soda then raku fired
13x9.5x7"
100% donation by artist

Jon Bonnicksen was raised in Los Angeles by artistic parents who worked in the animation business. He grew up around art but did not follow that path initially. He received his bachelor's degree in Resource Conservation and a Master's degree in Counseling. He then practiced as a psychotherapist for 15 years. Jon has dabbled in ceramics since middle school. In 2011 he started taking classes at the Clay Studio of Missoula. He became serious about his work eight years ago when he began sculpting animals. He enjoys playing with metaphor, persona, and duality.