Western States Pottery Destinations

[Schyler]

Hello everyone. I am a ceramics student from Michigan. This summer I am hoping to take a road trip out west to see what there is to see as far as pottery goes. So I'm hoping that some of your can give me some pottery destinations that are important, significant, or just interesting. I'd really just like some general places to use as a jumping off point for my own research, and it's hard to find this sort of info through google. Thanks very much!

[Marcia Selsor]

I guess that depends on which way you are going.

Northern Clay Studio in Minneapolis would be a good stop.

Archie Bray Foundation in Helena (Interstate 15). The grounds are open, many of the clay residents don't mind people coming through,

and the Red Lodge Clay Center in Red Lodge 40 miles south of I 90 in central Montana This has active residents working.

and the

Clay Studio in Missoula Montana I 90 across the divide. In Great Falls there is the Paris Gibson Square Art Center.

If you go into Canada visit Medicine Hat's Medalta Clay center..residents there. The Banff Center for Creative Arts in Banff, Alberta also interesting studios.

A more southern route if you go through Chicago, Lill Street Gallery and studios

The Bemis Foundation in Omaha

I think you would need to contact individual potters in you wanted to "drop in" on private studios.

You could check the Buyers Guide from Ceramics Monthly and look up places that offer studio spaces and classes.

If you are further south, there is Anderson Ranch in Aspen and Santa Fe Clay in Santa Fe where there is the Folk Arts museum too. If near Flagstaff, Az you could visit the ASU wood kilns on campus. Another campus with wood kilns is Logan Utah with Gary Neely.

Marcia

[Marcia Selsor]

Some museums worth visiting along the way would be Heard Museum in Phoenix as well as the U od Az Ceramics Study collection in Tempe and the Mesa Museum of Art with studios. You could visit some of the Pueblos too.Already mentioned Santa Fe's Folk Art Museum. There are some nice galleries and the Holter Museum in Helena, Mt. A really awesome collection of museums is the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming "http://www.bbhc.org/home/";but not necessarily clay.The Plains Indian Museum, the Buffalo Bill Memorabilia Museum, the Whitney Museum of Western Art, The Remington Gun Collection, and the Greater Yellowstone Natural History Museum all make up this center and it is a cool ride over from Red Lodge , Montana. Billings, MT has the Yellowstone Art Museum at 4th Av. North and North 27th St.If you come through the Black Hills, there is the Hot Springs Museum of fossilized mammoths and saber tooth tigers discovered in a 1970s housing development. There is another similar site in Colorado Dinosaur National Park as well as the museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Mt (many, many dinosaurs) Worth a visit. Yellowstone and Glacier Parks are beautiful too. How long are you taking for this trip? If you like jaw dropping beautiful scenery, take the Beartooth Highway"http://www.beartoothhighway.com/" from Red Lodge to NE Entrance to Yellowstone or Visa Versa. Most scenic highway in the US. Might be worth getting a national park pass for the trip.

Marcia