The mission of the Red Lodge Clay Center is to support artists, the creative process and to provide a place for professionally minded ceramic artists to create new work. For the general public, the Center hosts visiting artist workshops, lectures, demonstrations, gallery exhibitions, and educational programming. Throughout the years, the Center has emphasized the importance of art and artmaking in everyday lives.
David Hiltner and his artist/wife Maggy moved to Red Lodge, Montana in 2005 to establish the Red Lodge Clay Center. Prior to the move, David was an Assistant Professor of Ceramics at Wichita State University, and previously taught at Syracuse University, Northwest College in Wyoming, and at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. David received his B.F.A. in Ceramics from Wichita State University in 1993 and completed his M.F.A at Syracuse University in 1997.
The center has evolved and expanded over the years, and includes a strong, world-wide, online presence for the sale of work by resident artists. David Hiltner explains the origins of the center and how they are adapting during the Covid pandemic.
Jared Peterson was born in Silver City, New Mexico but spent his formative years in West Virginia. A graduate of West Virginia University in English and Ceramics, Jared is proud of his South Western and Appalachian roots and explores them in both poetry and ceramics. Traveling throughout the world to pursue his love for art and English, Jared has been a short-term resident at Red Lodge Clay Center several times. He has also studied ceramics abroad in Jingdezhen, China; and recently completed a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant grant in Perak, Malaysia. As a poet and a visual artist, he is fascinated by language and narrative and his work employs an array of characters and motifs that explore various aspects of his identity. His colorful clay sculptures are derived from a vast array of influences, but language and pop culture icons uphold the breadth of his interests.
“With the dog as the leading role, a stand-in for myself, I navigate through cacti and cow skulls, mailboxes and fence posts, exploring my Mexican heritage, identity as a West Virginian, and life in rural and suburban America,” said Jared.
