Archie Bray

    The semester had not quite started, so Cheryl took advantage of the time by organizing an outing to Helena to visit the Archie Bray Foundation with our neighbor Amy.  I have heard of this place before, and it had been mentioned to me several times from different directions, all in the matter of a couple of days. Helena is about an hour & a half from Bozeman, but there were a couple of stops along the way to break up the drive.
    First stop would be at a place called Wheat Montana in Three Forks.  I was able to pick up a five pound sack of oat groats for less than $5!  Simple pleasures!  Breakfast for weeks!
    Next stop would be in Townsend - there is a hot glass studio called Goose Bay Handblown Glass, owned by Jim & Terry Gunderson.  They have a gallery set up in the front & the glassblowing in the back, with chairs set up so you can watch them work.  I had a lovely visit - they even invited me to blow a piece of glass!  Needless to say I was pretty excited!  Its one of those things I don't like to go too long without doing, it was such a pleasure to work in their shop.  The glory hole doors are some of the best I've seen. They open vertically via a handcrank - very easy to adjust and control.  This feature is also great because it allows for a variable size opening depending on what you are making, and it looks like a fiery eye!
    On to Helena!  Archie Bray is a little outside of town, a series of buildings - some occupied, some not, with  a beautiful mountainous backdrop.  It is "'a place to make available for all who are seriously and sincerely interested in any of the branches of ceramic arts, a fine place to work.'  Its primary mission is to provide an environment that stimulates creative work in ceramics."  The artists in residence are there for two years! What a dream.

    We spent the afternoon wandering through the buildings and around the grounds - there is sculpture everywhere.  We also popped into the studios where the residents were busy at work.  We were able to chat with a few, Alanna DeRocchi, Nicholas Bivens & Sean O'Connell.  Small world Alanna and I have mutual friends - I tend to run into that often within the glass & ceramic world.  Our visit there was really inspiring to me, it is a very peaceful place, with the evidence of over half a century of creative energy floating around.  Here is an album of the visit.

Stopped off at Blackfoot River Brewing Company for a quick one on the way home.