Red Lodge Clay Center – Short-Term Resident (20th Anniversary Wood Fire) 2026
Casey Burton was born and raised on Chicago’s South Side. She earned her BFA in ceramics from the University of Iowa in 2019 and continued her studies with post-baccalaureate work at the University of Kansas. She later completed an artist residency at the Cobb Mountain Art & Ecology Project in Northern California, experiences that further deepened her connection to body and land. In 2024, Casey received her MFA from Penn State University. She was an adjunct professor at Saint Xavier University in Chicago and is currently an artist-in-residence at The Clay Studio of Missoula.
My work intertwines care, physicality, and the dualities of the eternal and ephemeral. Sensation lies at the core as I explore connections between body, material, and environment. I throw myself into the material, seeking to care for myself in the same way. This physical dialogue becomes a grounding ritual of tenderness, endurance, and self-preservation. Physicality is a healing experience and a vehicle for transformation and self-discovery.
I am drawn to ecology and the interconnections between all beings and things—how we shape and are shaped by our environments. Through shaping materials with my body, I mourn past selves and memories while celebrating the rewilding of self. I investigate ways to sanctify space and examine the evolving self, creating spaces where identity can be projected and explored.