Exhibition Posted Online: Monday, October 5, 2026 at 10 am MT

Reception with the artist Friday, October 16, 2026, 5-7pm

Both a studio potter and educator, Jane Shellenbarger received her B.F.A. degree from the Kansas City Art Institute, and her M.F.A. from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Following graduate school, she worked as a resident artist at the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, in Helena, MT.  Shellenbarger established her studio pottery, Mill Station Pottery, in rural Michigan in 1997.

She has held teaching positions at Northern Michigan University and Kansas City Art Institute and currently is a Professor in the School for American Crafts in the College of Art and Design at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Shellenbarger has exhibited her work in several galleries around the country including Leslie Ferrin Gallery, Lacoste Gallery, Philadelphia Clay Studio, Red Lodge Clay Center and Baltimore Clay works among others.

Her work is in the permanent collections of the Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.; Ohi Museum, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan; San Bao Ceramic Art Institute, Jingdezhen, China; Weisman Art Museum; San Angelo Museum of Fine Art; University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR; The Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts; and The University Museum, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.

My work with clay is mainly focused on forms that provide both a utilitarian and ritualized experience with deep and varied surface treatments.

While considering the tipping point between awkward and elegance, crude materiality and refinement, utility and meaning, I question conventional beauty within historical forms. The familiar object becomes the artifact, speaking of multiple histories and the nuanced and complex relationship we have with objects in our everyday lives.

Culture accumulates in layers upon our objects of use, ritual and prosaic. My own intentions are to shed light and perhaps even give reverence to this cultural dynamic.
-Jane Shellenbarger

Exhibition Posted Online: Monday, October 5, 2026 at 10 am MT

Reception with the artist Friday, October 16, 2026, 5-7pm

Samuel Johnson is an American potter known for his unique, functional ceramics, often made through a traditional wood-firing process. His pieces reflect a fascination with the interplay between order and organic irregularity, resulting in surfaces marked by natural variations and dark, shadowy textures. Johnson studied painting and ceramics at the University of Minnesota before apprenticing with noted potter Richard Bresnahan. He further honed his skills in Denmark and Japan, where he explored Scandinavian and Japanese ceramic styles and later earned graduate degrees from the University of Iowa. Johnson currently teaches at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University in Minnesota and has served on the board of Artaxis.org, a non-profit that supports ceramic artists worldwide. Johnson’s work has been shown in over 150 group and solo exhibitions and is included in the permanent collections of the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, The North Dakota Museum of Art, the Rourke Art Museum and featured on the Cover of Ceramics Monthly Magazine.

Johnson’s work often explores human themes through the physical characteristics of his pottery, and his process emphasizes the unpredictable, organic changes introduced by the intense heat of the wood kiln. His pieces often appear both symmetrical and slightly distressed, representing a blend of control and natural variation that he sees as a metaphor for human life.

I wasn’t initially drawn toward making unglazed utilitarian pottery, but over time, I began to see this as a way to evoke a sense of stillness and mystery in my work. My aim is to make useful pots that offer little in the way of ornamentation. Rather, I want them to be cultural touchstones; objects of contemplation as well as tools for domestic life. Within a culture which celebrates quick and insignificant revelations, these pots act as counterpoint; disruptors which are both recognizable (e.g. a bowl, a cup, a vase) yet somehow favor the flawed, scared, and vulnerable over the ornate and pure.  This disruption is meant to make way for an alternative narrative; a way of sensing oneself and world with greater empathy and awareness.  

When shaping a vessel, I often use a tool to scrape or beat a form that may otherwise seem rigidly structured and symmetrically balanced. This heightens tension between conventional expectations and those presented. I use natural materials to further evoke a sense of the unexpected; such as collecting and using a local plant, such as Scouring Rush, to make fire drawings on the work or by embedding small stones in the clay which later erupt through the stone-like surface of the pottery.

It is significant that clay and fire are both irregular and natural forces.  So are we.  We have a capacity for reason and mathematical precision and yet are half-wild, full of biological and spiritual mysteries which drive our impulses despite existing, often, beneath consciousness. Poets refer to it as the shadow – aspects of our personality, our humanity, which are hidden from us, yet bare a significant psychological or spiritual influence all the same.  The central theme of my work is related to the discovery, and eventual acceptance, of this transcendent mystery.

My work looks dark and rustic. There is evidence of both the process of shaping wet clay and its transformation through fire.  I achieve this by placing pots within a wood burning kiln, and over the course of a firing, they are marked by wood and heat, melting ash and burning embers.  The resulting patina of natural hues and irregular textures creates quiet surfaces that seem more like shadow than scorched earth and aim to strike a balance between the wild and mysterious parts of ourselves and that part of our psyche that sets us apart from them.
-Samuel Johnson

Exhibition Posted Online: Monday, September 7, 2026 at 10 am MT

Dallas Wooten was born in Louisville, Ky, where he earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Ceramics from Indiana University Southeast, right across the river. Upon graduating, he attended Ohio University’s graduate program. Wooten completed his Masters in Fine Arts from OU in 2020. Following his time at OU, Wooten was a long-term Artist-in-Residence at Hope Center for Arts and Technology, Inc., where he taught classes at HopeCAT as well as Youngstown State University. Wooten was awarded as a 2022 Ceramics Monthly Emerging Artist and was featured in the ArtStream Nomadic Gallery expo at the 2023 NCECA conference. Wooten founded Wooten Clayworks in 2020 which has recently opened its physical location in Hackettstown New Jersey. Wooten currently teaches and curates high quality ceramic exhibitions/workshops at Wooten Clayworks where he’s working to build a community to share his joy for pottery with.

Wooten utilizes the flaws, blemishes, and marks created in the process of making, and recontextualizes them within intricate patterning inspired by traditional status-imagery, patterns, and materials. Wooten’s work explores historically utilitarian and simple forms. These pots are then adorned with process and gestural marks abstracted into status-based patterns, such as vine scroll and floral imagery. The work aims to take process and residual information left by the hand to emphasize the importance of the human mark within the context of status-informed pottery. There are aesthetic and conceptual ties to both Japanese ceramics and modernist design that are considered within the work, both visually and metaphorically. Form and silhouette are of the utmost importance, as they serve as the canvas and frame in which these explorations take place. The pots, although functional and minimal, then serve as both objects of desire and functional vessels for consumption or display.

Exhibition Posted Online: Monday, September 7, 2026 at 10 am MT

The Line will bring together artists that utilize line work to define space. Some use the line as a boundary; some make repetitive marks as directional cues or visual texture. Some lines are created in wet clay, some lines are added to or revealed on the surface with slip or glaze. All lines are narrative.

Participating artists include Nikki Blair, Paul Donnelly, Bianka Groves, Chris Hosbach, Adam Meistrell, Liz Pechacek, Amanda Pennington, Stacy Snyder, Jeremy Randall, and Alison Reintjes.

Exhibition Posted Online: Tuesday, June 8, 2026 at 10 am MT

Kate Fisher is an artist, educator, mother, and story collector who is interested in how handmade objects create connections, both implicit and explicit, between humans. She is a recipient of a Metropolitan Regional Arts Council Grant (2015). Her work was included in the national traveling exhibition Crowns: Crossing into Motherhood, which concluded with a stop at the Canton Museum of Art (2019-2020). Fisher’s work was included in the book, The Anatomy of a Good Pot, by author and scientist, Ryan Coppage PhD. Most recently, Fisher was commissioned to design and craft the athlete awards for The Loppet Cup – the first cross-country World Cup to be held in the US in over 20+ years!

Fisher cultivates community as an employee of the Loppet Foundation: A non-profit dedicated to connecting people to the outdoors through experiences that grow community. She served as the Studio Art Technician for the Department of Art and Art History at St. Olaf College (2008-2021) where she also taught intermittently, as a Visiting Assistant Professor. Fisher founded the Ron Gallas Cup Library (2015), an educational cup-lending program for the St. Olaf community. She also worked for Lawrence University, Hamline University, and Anderson Ranch Arts Center. Fisher holds BAs in both Art History and Studio Art from St. Olaf College and earned her MFA in Ceramics at the University of North Texas.

A born and raised Midwesterner, Fisher holds deep passions for endurance sports and creative endeavors – viewing both as a craft capable of cultivating community and change while offering the opportunity to explore creative problem-solving and risk-taking skills. A life long solo-sport lover, when she is not at work or in the studio she can be found biking, running, skiing, coaching, or enjoying the roads and trails. Kate Fisher lives in St. Louis Park with her partner, children, and a Boston Terrier named Gatsby.

I think of my work as domestic art: it is either for or about the home.

As an artist and story collector, my goal is to make connections with others through my work. Central to this practice is my observation that everyday objects, and our interactions with them, have the power to impact us in meaningful ways. With a focus on utility and durability, while working with my hands, I aim to create a metaphorical handshake between the maker and user.

I collect inspiration from the ever-changing interior landscape that surrounds me. It is an endless source of ideas for forms, subject matter, and surface treatment. In particular, the domestic landscape is a shared and ever-evolving environment. My most recent works analyze and celebrate this space as I respond to the haphazard child detritus or paraphernalia I now find commonplace. The objects I make are a study and celebration of the intriguing beauty to be found amongst a mess. The work is sturdy, bright, and just right.
-Kate Fisher

Exhibition Posted Online: Monday, August 10, 2026 at 10 am MT

My exploration of the ceramic vessel currently represents two related yet distinct bodies of work. Both series encourage reflective interaction with the pieces.

My ceramic vessels combine architecture, abstract painting, and color interactions to question the conventions of archetypal pottery forms. The vessels provide a platform for conveying and evoking emotional reactions. I construct re-imagined vessels comprised of intersecting geometric shapes that use exaggerated proportions and visual mass to communicate a sense monumentality despite their modest scale. I use this framework as a basis for investigating two bodies of work. 

In the first series, abstracted vessel forms are defined by bold color, giving them the presence of utilitarian 3-dimensional Color Field paintings. These forms are draw on modernist architecture and meant to be used in domestic spaces. Their unconventional appearance may require an adventurous approach when putting them into use.  

The functional parameters of the vessel allow me to achieve two important goals: offering individuals an interactive experience through use and questioning the aesthetic conventions of the archetypal pot within the framework of utility. By reimagining a teapot or liquor service through an architectural lens, the form is abstracted to the point where it is simultaneously unfamiliar and recognizable. A moment of discovery is offered to entice the viewer to investigate further through sight, touch, and use. Rather than stepping back from a painting to see it more clearly, the tabletop scale of the work demands zooming in to close proximity to enter an immersive experience.  

The second body of work examines how bereavement can be expressed through the context of a ritual object such as an urn or candle votive. Grieving is a universal experience that involves numerous emotions. As such, it has the potential to be applied to concepts like the loss of a societal consensus of truth in addition to the literal mortality of a loved one. These ritual objects establish monuments for our personal and societal losses. The spectral color used in the other body of work is replaced with black in these ritual objects as a symbol of mourning. The forms are informed by reliquaries and tomb architecture to provide a focal point for intentional acts of grief, acknowledgement, and remembrance.

Both architects and potters are fundamentally engaged in designing functional space. Architecture holds people; people hold pottery. The interactive relationship built through the triad of a person, a setting, and the vessel is my aspiration for the work.
-Marty Fielding

Exhibition Posted Online: Monday, August 10, 2026 at 10 am MT

Interconnection will bring together the work of 8 artists participating in our Artist-Invites-Artists August 2026 residency. As they work together in the studio for almost 3 weeks, sharing techniques and learning from each other, we thought it would be nice to see their finished work available in the gallery.

Participating artists include Jenn Cole, Martha Grover, Olivia Avery, Sarah Pike, Jackie Matleski, Talia Silva, Dawn Dishaw, and Dawn Candy

Exhibition Posted Online: Monday, July 6, 2026 at 10 am MT

Join us for a reception with the artists on July 3, 2026 from 5-7 pm MT.
Artist gallery talks at start at 5:45 pm MT.

The Red Lodge Clay Center is proud to present an exhibition of our 2025-2026 Long-Term Resident Artists newest work, Four Sliding Doors.

The residency program at Red Lodge Clay Center is designed to encourage the creative, intellectual and personal growth of emerging and established visual artists. Each Resident brings a unique and vital voice that adds to the richness of the Clay Center. Their work is distinct but they all challenge their materials, and push their ideas forward as they develop their professional artistic careers through our immersive, two-year residency experience.

Participating artists include Breana Ferreira, Anna Graef, Kelly McLaughlin, and Joe Taylor

Exhibition Posted Online: Monday, June 8, 2026 at 10 am MT

Vibrant is an exhibition guest curated by Stefani Threet. Invited artists are black and brown artists who make utilitarian ceramic works that highlight how color becomes both a personal and cultural language, shaping narratives of identity and belonging. Together, these works reveal a shared creative lineage that binds artists in community while celebrating their distinct voices.

Participating artists include Rich Brown, Laura Caroline Casas, Delvin Goode, Nikki Lau, Marce Nixon-Washington, Stephen Phillips, George Rodriguez, and Stefani Threet.

Exhibition Posted Online: Monday, May 4, 2026 at 10 am MT

The Advanced Student Project Network (ASPN) is a unique residency specifically designed to provide undergraduate artists in a BA or BFA ceramics program with an opportunity to explore new ideas or directions in their work within a group of like-minded, motivated peers and alongside an established artist mentor. Universities and Colleges from across the US are invited to nominate one advanced (Junior or Senior) student from their program. The student nominees are then juried by a committee comprised of RLCC staff and one invited juror, who will also attend the residency as a Visiting Artist and mentor. Of these nominees, only five students are chosen to attend the residency in May/June annually.

Our 2026 Mentor will be Holly Hanessian, a studio artist and educator that works at the fringe edge of craft and social practice. Participating ASPN residents include Theo Fuller, Southern Illinois University. Edwardsville; Alejandra Gaytan, Appalachian State University; Marina Max, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Sophie Lamar, Kansas City Art Institute; and Nat Stasiukiewicz, Rhode Island School of Design

click here to learn more about our ASPN program