This exhibit is a tribute to one of The Garden City's most essential cultural institutions—The Clay Studio of Missoula. The Clay Studio's residency program has been actively encouraging the creative, intellectual and personal growth of emerging and established visual artists for 20 years.

 

Selected from a pool of more than 80 past long- and short-term residents, the participating artists embody the creativity and craftsmanship, verve and vitality that distinguishes The Clay Studio’s residency program and the field of artful ceramics.

 

New works by eight past residents that comprise How to Grow a Garden City include:

Chris Alveshere, Crista Ann Ames, Eva Lys Champagne, Lane Chapman, Elisha Harteis, Chad Steve, Kelly Stevenson, Shalene Valenzuela 

 

WARNING: Simply putting an artwork in your shopping cart does not mean it is reserved. The item is not yours until you place your order and pay for it. Another person may “scoop” your item if it sits in your shopping cart unattended.

CHRIS ALVESHERE

Missoula, MT • BIO

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CRISTA ANN AMES

Ellensburg, WA • BIO

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EVA LYS CHAMPAGNE

Bali, Indonesia • BIO

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LANE CHAPMAN

Missoula, MT • BIO

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ELISHA HARTEIS

Missoula, MT • BIO

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CHAD STEVE

Tequesta, FL • BIO

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KELLY STEVENSON

Livingston, MT • BIO

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SHALENE VALENZUELA

Missoula, MT • BIO

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ARTIST BIOS

 

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CHRIS ALVESHERE

Long-term resident, 2020-2022

I like to make pots that are audacious and a bit cheeky, pieces with attitude and intention. Juicers that peek out from a shelf in the corner...cups that are easy to store but worth displaying in the open...jars that enhance the presentation of food or keep- sakes. I like pots that invite endless possibilities for peculiar usage—saffron, a single Twizzler, a collection of found cat whis- kers. Ceramic vessels need to be both purposeful and visually compelling if they are to take up precious space in one's home.

— Chris Alveshere

 

Chris Alveshere is an artist and educator living in Missoula, MT. He maintains a studio practice and teaches community ceramics classes. Originally from North Dakota, Chris received his BA with an emphasis in Ceramics and BFA in Art Education from Minnesota State University-Moorhead, and his MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in Alfred, NY. Before pursuing his graduate degree, Chris worked as a middle and high school art teacher for three years in Fargo, ND.

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CRISTA ANN AMES

Long-term resident, 2015-2017

By layering mythology, iconography and personal narrative, my work explores how our own animal nature relates to the ways we establish and sustain personal relationships. I draw on my own experiences to explore pastoral life, animal husbandry, women’s craft and fertility. In bridging the gap between myth and experience, I utilize my artistic practice to create altogether new contemporary tales of joy, trauma and womanhood.

— Crista Ann Ames

 

Based in Ellensburg, WA, Crista Ann Ames has a BFA in Ceramics with a minor in Art History from Washington State University, and an MFA in Ceramics from the University of Montana. She has been an artist-in-residence at A.I.R. Vallauris in France, Guldagergaard International Ceramics Research Center in Denmark, the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Red Lodge Clay Center, and most recently Gallery One Visual Arts Center in Ellensburg, WA. In 2013 she was featured in Western Art & Architecture’s “One to Watch” column.

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EVA LYS CHAMPAGNE

Long-term resident, 2010-2012

This series of vessels are based loosely on the amphora—an ancient type of container, usually ceramic, with a pointed base, oval body, narrow neck, and handles, often used for storage and transport by land or sea. As an artifact, the amphora is synonymous with trade journeys over millennia and all they imply. While building this body of work my imagination probed the minutiae of lives in flux, populations in movement, driven to change for reasons both within and beyond their power: adventure, war, economic opportunity, knowledge-seeking, escape, love.

— Eva Lys Champagne

 

Eva Lys Champagne has a BA in Studio Art from Humboldt State University and an MFA in Ceramics from the University of Montana. For several years she traveled extensively for artist residencies, including A.I.R. Vallauris in France, Guldagergaard International Ceramic Research Center in Denmark, Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts in Maine, and Red Lodge Clay Center. Since 2019 she has lived in Bali, Indonesia, working as the full-time Managing Director of Gaya Ceramic Art Center.

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LANE CHAPMAN

Long-term resident, 2019-2021

I illustrate handmade vessels not only to comment on humans’ relationships with objects, but also the relationships between humans and the natural world. My illustrations speak to the beauty of the ‘small world’ and its importance within our ecosystem. I encourage viewers to see the beautiful in what is often considered disturbing or even disgusting—insects, rodents, dead animals, etc. When humans threaten the 'small world' through pollution and the destruction of habitats, we ultimately endanger our own future and viability on the planet.

— Lane Chapman

 

Lane Chapman is a utilitarian potter based in Missoula. Her work is influenced by the natural world and its life cycles. She has a BFA in Applied Design with an emphasis in Ceramics from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. While at UALR, Lane was the ceramic studio assistant and Clay Guild president. She also dabbles in sculpture, drawing, printmaking, and metal-smithing.

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ELISHA HARTEIS

Long-term resident, 2018-2020

In one way or another, every artwork I make is a negotiated expression of my own history with the world. My art is a subjective dance between the fissures of expectation and experience. My articulations, while pointed toward something that is not collectively experienced, seek out moments when and where we can find opportunities to communicate. I attempt to convey moments where and when personal experience endeavors to participate in forming our interpretations of the world.

— Elisha Harteis

 

Elisha Harties has lived in Missoula most of her life. She attended Sentinel High School and was encouraged to develop her skills in Drawing and Photography. She received her BFA in Ceramics from the University of Montana and continued her education with a short-term residency at Red Lodge Clay Center and a studio assistantship at the Arrowmount School of Arts and Crafts in Tennessee. She teaches ceramics through her own business, Mud Bunneh Ceramics, and also through Missoula Public Schools, the Missoula Art Museum, and The Clay Studio of Missoula.

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CHAD STEVE

Long-term resident, 2013-2015

With a focus on innovation and function, I treat each piece as a small sculpture—individually wheel-thrown with fine porcelain, then decorated with a combination of slip and harvested sands. After bisque firing, each piece is lightly glazed and high fired in an atmospheric soda firing. The forms are simple and effortlessly functional, uncomplicated and approachable. The surfaces are spontaneous with natural variations transitioning between land and water.

— Chad Steve

 

Chad Steve was born and raised in Lake Mills, WI. He received his BFA from the University of Wisconsin-Stout and his MFA from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Chad has instructed students at a variety of institutions such as Hawaii Potter’s Guild, Honolulu Art Museum, Montana State University, and Western Montana University. He is currently the Director of Ceramics & Sculpture at Lighthouse Art Center in Tequesta, FL.

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KELLY STEVENSON

Short-term resident, 2011

As a fifth-generation Montanan, I have deep roots that greatly influence the artwork I create. I find inspiration in nature and collaborate with the earth to provide the means. Like Montana’s dynamic spring weather, my work can change drastically from one project to the next: at times the act of creating reflects harsh winds and snow; at other times, like now, it’s animated by the scent of fresh spring flowers moving through the breeze.

— Kelly Stevenson

 

Kelly Stevenson has a BFA from Montana State University and an MFA from Georgia State University. After three years of teaching ceramics as an Assistant Professor at Berry College in Georgia, she returned to her beloved Montana roots as an artist-in- residence at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena. Kelly has exhibited her work both nationally and internationally, has works included in private and public collections, and is featured in a handful of prominent publications. In 2021, Kelly and her mother—ceramic artist Marie Stevenson—opened Teslow Art Center in Livingston, MT.

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SHALENE VALENZUELA

Long-term resident, 2007-2009

I reproduce everyday common objects primarily through slipcasting, and illustrate the surfaces with hand-painted, often narrative imagery that references fairytales, urban mythologies, consumer culture, societal expectations, etiquette, politics, and coming-of-age issues. My imagery draws from dated sources that represent an idealized time in society and advertising. Beneath the shiny veneer of these relics hides a complex and sometimes contradicting truth about how things may appear upon first glance.

— Shalene Valenzuela

 

Shalene Valenzuela was born and raised in Santa Barbara, CA. She has a BA in Art Practice from the University of California at Berkeley, and an MFA in Ceramics from California College of Arts and Crafts. Shalene has been a guest artist and speaker at numerous art centers and universities; her work has been featured in many group and solo exhibitions nationally. For the past ten years has served as The Clay Studio of Missoula’s executive director.

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