Right:
Aaron Benson
Building Parameters X II
(Counter Balance),
2010
stoneware, wood,
concrete, steel
22.5x20.5x5.5 in.
Above:
Kenyon Hansen
Lidded Pitcher,
2010
wood-fired stoneware
16 x 6 x 5 in.
Above:
Nicholas Bivins
Glass + Cup,
2011
ceramic, wood
7 x 8 x 3 in.
Left:
Courtney Murphy
Creamer and Sugar,
2011; earthenware
with majolica
6 x 4.5 in. dia.
Above:
Sean Erwin
Euphoria,
2010
porcelain, glaze,
china paint, luster,
mixed media
14 x 10 x 10 x in.
Left:
Jana Evans
M illib a rs,
2011
porcelain,
underglaze, glaze
3.5 X3 x 3 in. each
property in 1984. In 2004,
then-director Josh DeWeese
oversaw construction of the
$1.75 million, 12,000-square-
foot David and Ann Shaner
Resident Artist Studio Complex.
Under Lee, the Bray continues
to upgrade, recently adding
seven new state-of-the-art,
energy-efficient kilns, includ-
ing two Dutch-made models
so advanced a ceramist can
control firings from anywhere
in the world via the Internet.
“The studios are so luxuri-
ous now, it’s like the Clayboy
Mansion,” Weiser jokes. “All
the fantasies we used to have
about what the setup would be
have kind of come to life.”
Helena has evolved, too,
into a sophisticated city with a
vibrant arts scene - museums,
a symphony, community theater,
numerous cultural organiza-
tions. Archie Bray, whose orig-
inal vision for his foundation
encompassed all the arts, plant-
ed some of these seeds. “He
would bring actors and dancers
out on the train from New
York to perform,” Lee says.
“We have great photographs
of a very young Peter Voulkos
teaching ballerinas how to
throw on the pottery wheel.”
To this day, Lee adds, the
Bray often hosts visiting artists
from various disciplines -
writers, painters, photogra-
phers. “It’s exciting to have
different perspectives come
into this environment. We’re
trying not to only invite people
with a similar point of view.
We want to see how we can
push this field in a way that can
really challenge it,” he says.
“What we’ve realized is that
we’re realty not doing anything
much different from when we
started.” Sixty years on, it’s
still about providing artists, in
the simple, memorable words
of Archie Bray himself, with
“a fine place to work.”
+
archicbray.org
Joyce Lovelace is
American
Craft
’s contributing editor.
jun/julu american craft 047
