Trackside Studio Ceramic Art Gallery

September 6 - 27, 2019 - Invitational Exhibit: Lee Ayars, Seth Charles & Mat Rude

• Trackside Studio's annual invitational exhibit featuring regional studio ceramic artists.

Lee Ayars - leeayars@comcast.net Trackside Studio is honored to feature ceramic works by a Spokane treasure Lee Ayars. He studied art at Spokane Falls Community College receiving his A.A. then followed at Washington State University earning both his B.A. and his M.F.A. He taught fine art classes for over 38 years here in Spokane, Washington and is currently, happily retired. Trackside is happily forcing him out of his retirement bliss.

His artist statement is simple: The “Art” is my statement! I hope for a mysterious presence in my art, and I love innocence in art.

Seth Charles - charlesceramics@yahoo.com www.sethcharles.com In 2018, Trackside featured the works of Amanda Bury, Seth's partner in this journey in clay. Seth was a lecturer of ceramics and sculpture at State College of Florida and a studio artist in St. Petersburg, Florida. He holds a BFA from The University of North Florida and a MFA degree from Central Washington University. He was been a long term artist in resident at The Clay Studio of Missoula and Morean Center for Clay. He is currently living in Kansas City where Amanda has taken a residency.

Statement: My work is inspired by the irregular beauty of the natural world and is made in response to the quickly growing trend toward digitalization in contemporary society. Created through a nature based aesthetic paradigm, the work directly rejects the ideals of beauty and perfection found in western society. The sculptures are generally small and compact, quiet and inward-orientated. They invite the viewer to get closer and inspire a reduction of the physical distance between object and person, providing a sensory experience that rewards examination and reflection.

The works created come from an observation of and reverence for nature as both mentor and co-creator. It is my belief that the more you observe nature, the more you are reminded what it is to be human - that we are all connected to, rather than separate from the natural world around us. The work invites you to slow way down, be patient, and look closely. This sensory experience invites a contemplative state, allowing the observation of abstract and nonrepresentational ideals of beauty that may be out of the norm of contemporary western society.

Mat Rude - mathew.rude@gmail.com www.matrude.com Mat Rude (born 1974, Decorah, Iowa, USA) lives and works in Spokane, WA where he is an Assistant Professor of Art at Gonzaga University. He earned a BA from Luther College in 1998 and an MFA from Montana State University in 2007. Mat also had the distinguished honor of working closely with internationally renowned artist Don Reitz as his studio assistant as well as working alongside Donovan Palmquist of Master Kiln Builders. In 2010 he was selected as a member of a delegation of ceramic arts professionals from the United States to research indigenous ceramic materials and their uses in China. The following year Mat returned to China as artist-in-residence at The Pottery Workshop in Jingdezhen. His work is exhibited widely both nationally and internationally. Statement:

The weathered beauty of the work speaks of secret places and the arcane symbols that mark them. Throughout our lives we discover places that give us comfort, escape, or solitude. This body of work with its eroded textures and subtle perforations represents the sanctuaries in which we seek refuge. As time passes, we may lose or outgrow those places just as the relationships we develop that take us to or make us leave them also transform. The form and surface of the work is also reflective of my conversation with the material and a record of the firing process. The textures and surface treatments are derived from utilizing basic properties of various clay bodies, for example how clays tear, break, or weather. The end result is to have an object that can exist as an artifact of not only the process and energy that went into its creation, but also of the history of the medium. Hopefully the viewer can allow that energy to radiate by finding something new in the piece with each glance.

June 7 - 28 - Queer Art Walk - Featuring Jeffry Mitchell, Seattle, WA & Ivan Carmona from Portland, OR

• Trackside was honored to feature the ceramic works of Seattle, Washington queer folk artist, Jeffry Mitchell and Portland, Oregon ceramic artist Ivan Carmona.

• Jeffry’s ceramics works are kitschy, contemporary spins on functional forms, erotic using the figure, animals, flora and highly ornamented porcelain. His ceramic forms are represented by PDX Contemporary Art out of Portland, OR and can be found in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Seattle Art Museum, Philladelphia Art Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Philadelphia Art Museum, Tacoma and Portland Art Museums.

• Iván Carmona is a Puerto Rican studio artist born in Philadelphia, USA. In 2015, Iván received his Bachelor of Fine Art from The Oregon College of Art and Craft in Portland, Oregon. He was a recipient of numerous national awards, including:  The Student Scholarship Award for Outstanding Academic and Artistic Achievement, the 2015 NCECA Undergraduate Award for Excellence, the Studio Potter Undergraduate Merit Award (Providence, RI), and the 2014 Huntley-Tidwell Scholarship to attend the Penland School of Craft in Asheville, NC. His work has been exhibited in numerous galleries in USA, Puerto Rico, and Latin America. His pieces can be found in public and private art collections internationally, including the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, and at the Gifu Prefecture High School in Tokyo Kouryu, Japan.

May 3 - 31, 2019 - In and Out of the Garden 2, “The Artful Arrangement”

An exhibit featuring works by Chris Kelsey, Mark Moore and Gina Freuen with ceramic works that can be used in the garden or to display inside the bounty of the garden. Mother's Day gift plantings in mini containers.

April 5 - 30, 2018 - Form and Function, Amanda Bury & Cozette Phillips

• “Form and Function” with artists Amanda Bury and Cozette Phillips, Trackside’s annual exhibit featuring regional faculty working in sculpture and / or clay. Cozette Phillips maintains a studio practice in Pasco, Washington and is an Assistant Professor of Art at Columbia Basin College. She is an interdisciplinary sculptor and metalsmith. Trackside is also pleased to introduce Amanda Bury to our Spokane community. Amanda recently completed a year of residence at The Morean Center for Clay in Saint Petersburg, Florida then returned to her home stomping grounds in Thorp, WA where she is continuing her studio regimen that maintains a focus on atmospheric fired functional ceramic forms.

Amanda Bury - BIO

Amanda received a Bachelors of Art in Anthropology and a Bachelors of Art in Studio Art from Central Washington University. She then went on to pursue Post-Baccalaureate study at the University of Montana.

Amanda has taught courses at places around the U.S. including The Clay Studio of Missoula, and The Morean Center for Clay. Her and her partner Seth Charles co-operate a wood-fired kiln design and construction venture. Amanda recently completed a year of residence at The Morean Center for Clay in Saint Petersburg, Florida. She has since relocated back to Washington State.

Amanda regularly exhibits in invitational and national juried exhibitions. Many of her pieces are held in public and private collections world wide.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I rely on the central role of utilitarian objects as vehicles for nourishment. I use these objects as a conduit to speak further about connections and relationships between human beings and the rest of the natural world.

I aim to invoke discourse, thought and reflection on our contemporary culture of food. I am interested in where food intersects culture, ethics, history, ritual and community. I am continuously exploring what we choose to eat, its history and how it gets to our tables today. I am intrigued by how our relationship with food shapes the way we treat our bodies and our planet.

I choose to fire my work using the atmospheric wood-fire process to create varied and organic surfaces. Wood-firing embodies and reaffirms the ideas of nature, environment, history, ritual and community held within the work. The process incorporates experimentation, skillfulness, knowledge and an intimacy over time. The atmospheric effects often blur and obscure intended surface work which mimics the distance and obscurity in the connections we have with our nourishment today.

Cozette Phillips - Statement of Experience

Cozette Phillips is an interdisciplinary sculptor and metalsmith whose work is both reflective and formative, highlighting humanities past, present and future influence on the environment. Phillips received her Master of Fine Arts degree from State University of New York at New Paltz and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Columbus College of Art and Design. Artist residencies include Lademoen Kunstnerverksteder in Trondheim, Norway, The School for American Crafts at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY, Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, TX, and a blacksmithing residency at the Metal Museum in Memphis, TN. Her work is in the collection of the Metal Museum, Michigan Legacy Art Park, and on permanent display at Okayakohan Public Park in Okaya, Japan. Phillips’ solo exhibitions include Tributaries at the Metal Museum, In-Between at Cleveland Sculpture Center, Being Neither at The University of Kansas, Progressions at Babel Kunst in Trondheim, Norway, Vestige at Fort Worth Community Art Center, Where the Blue Sky Turns to Black at Central Michigan University, and Here to There at Saginaw Valley State University. Cozette Phillips maintains a studio practice in Pasco, Washington and is an Assistant Professor of Art at Columbia Basin College.

ARTIST STATEMENT

The work included in this exhibition has an implicit environmental focus, ideologically and visually evoking humanities influence on the natural world. Through my artistic practice, I interpret natural forms by combining industrial processes and natural materials to focus on the tension between ecologic and cultural changes in the landscape. The goal is to highlight the interconnectedness between the two and invite reflection on what cannot be summarized in a singular representation of form.

March 1, 2019 - March 29, 2019 “Undone” Mark Moore

Feature exhibit of Trackside Studio Ceramic Art Gallery partner: Mark Moore. Perfectly broken, a new collection of textured ceramic forms.

T 4 2 February 1, 2019 - February 28, 2019

Feature exhibit of Trackside Studio Ceramic Art Gallery partners: Chris Kelsey, Mark Moore & Gina Freuen, featuring teapots and companion cups celebrating the entwining hearts of the valentine’s day mood.

December 7, 2018 - January 18, 2019, Cup of Joy

Fifth annual group invitational of drinking vessels, cup, mug, yunomi, sake, stein, goblet, functional or non-functional. Over 36 invited artists will exhibit up to 4 cup forms for our holiday gift giving season, shipped from all corners of the United States. Be the first in our doors.

Posey Bacopoulos - New York, NY,  Sarah Beaty - Ft. Yukon, AK, Robert Beishline  - Bellingham, WA, Mike Buck – Spokane, WA, Autumn Bunton - Spokane, WA, Amanda Bury – Thorp, WA, Victoria Christen  - Portland, OR, Gina Freuen - Spokane, WA, Anthony Gaudino - Gig Harbor, WA, Damian Grava – Seattle, WA, Martha Grover - Bethel, Maine, Jordan Jones - Freeland, WA, Chris Kelsey – Spokane, WA,   Justin Lambert - Morrison, CO, Loren Lukens - Seattle, WA, Sarah Magar  - Sooke, BC Canada, Mark Moore – Spokane, WA, Mardis Nenno - Spokane, WA, Tybre Newcomer - Pasco, WA, Reid Ozaki - Tacoma, WA, Boni Parker - Ellensburg, WA, Ronan Kyle Peterson - Chapel Hill, NC, Chris Pickett - Pocatello, Idaho, Aubrey Purdy Rude - Spokane, WA, Stephen Robison - Ellensburg, WA, Mat Rude - Spokane, WA, Sam Scott - Shoreline, WA, Jill Smith - Spokane, WA, Lauren Smith - Ulm, MT, Dennis Randall Smith - Medical Lake, WA , Chad Steve - Tequesta, FL, James Tingey - Enterprise, OR, Ken Turner - Seattle, WA, Eric Van Eimeren - Helena, MT, Emily Free Wilson - Helena, MT

October  5 - November 17 - "Kiln Fired" Ceramics by Chris Kelsey, Mark Moore & Gina Freuen

Trackside Studio's October exhibit featured all new functional and sculptural ceramics by Trackside Studio partners Gina Freuen, Chris Kelsey & Mark Moore. Recent wood / soda firings by Gina, Chris and Mark plus new electric firings by Mark and Chris.

September  7 - 28 - "3 Strong" Ceramics by Sarah Magar, Mardis Nenno & Boni Parker

Trackside Studio's annual invitational exhibit featuring regional studio ceramic artists.

• Mardis Nenno - Spokane, WA

• Sarah Magar - Sook Harbor, BC Canada

• Boni Parker - Ellensburg, WA

Sarah Magar

Artist Statement: I strive to create visually imaginative and textural landscapes to touch and explore, provoking thought through the experience of a tangible object. My imagery often blends satirical narratives drawn in vivid colors, with fragility, grace, and vulnerability.

For inspiration, I often rely on the positive and negative influences that I experience daily, the confusion of dreams and memories, and the wondrous curiosity I experienced as a child. I am fascinated by how the mind creates memories and the correlation of experience, both real and perceived.

Much of my conceptual challenge is to convey the nostalgic imprint of the past, and find ways to portray it in physical form. Like an interpreter, clay captures that transition, showing every mark or imprint, line, or scratch made on its surface.

I am also interested in the response to the drinking vessel as a functional canvas. I’m drawn to its intimacy and ability to partake in daily use and ritual. For me, the cup has become a simile for how we hold on to our fond memories. There is an aspect of preciousness and care to how we hold them both, cradled in our hands, or in our hearts.

Biography  - Sarah Magar was born in Dallas Texas in 1983. She roamed shoeless and free on her family’s farm at the edge of the sunflower field and the wild wood. Other than visiting with the cats, chickens and the weird-eyed goats, she spent her time turning over rocks, catching grasshoppers, and poking things with sticks.

Home was always an open land of wonder for Sarah. By the age of 9 she and her family had moved several times and traveled much of the US. In the end, and almost by accident, she was able to grow some roots in the Rockies of Montana. Her love for nature, travel, and exploration was bolstered by Montana’s wide open and free charisma, and emboldened her need for the expressive and visual arts.

Sarah completed her BFA in Ceramics & Drawing with a minor in Art History from the University of Montana School of Art in 2015. Upon graduation, she went on to complete her artist’s residency at Medalta Potteries in Medicine Hat, Alberta. She has exhibited her work in the US, and Canada. She has received awards from several juried shows, including the purchase of her work by the Montana Museum of Art and Culture in 2013 and 2015, and The People’s Choice Award at the 8th Annual Simple Cup show at the Kobo Gallery in Seattle. Sarah is currently working in studio on Vancouver Island, in Beautiful British Columbia.

 Mardis Nenno

Statement - My functional pottery reflects my interest in utilitarian form and my desire to make pots that are pleasurable to use and to look at.  I imagine them being a part of people’s table and kitchen counters and being passed around at gatherings of family and friends.  Each piece is unique and made by me using wheel and hand building techniques.  The surface decoration is based in the folk art tradition of stylized forms found in nature and I’m influenced by Northern Chinese Cizhou pottery and by the bright vibrant  glaze colors of early Persian ceramics.  I l use slips, stencils, sgraffito and slip trailing to create layers of information beneath the transparent glazes.

Bio - My path as a ceramic artist began at Alfred University, NY School of Ceramic Art and Engineering. I received a BFA from Montana State University and an MFA from Washington State University.  I was a studio potter in Belt, Montana for a decade, then moved to Spokane WA and began teaching clay classes.  In 2006  I was a resident artist at the Archie Bray Foundation for nine months.  I’ve also done a short residency at the Experimental Pottery Workshop in Jingdezhen, China.  I continued to teach at Spokane Falls Community College until I retired in 2016.  Now I’m back in my studio, making things.

Boni Parker

Short Bio-Bonilyn Parker was born and raised in the land of the midnight sun in Anchorage, Alaska and discovered ceramics in college.  She received her BA in Art from the University of Alaska Southeast in 2012 and her MFA in Ceramics from the Ohio University in 2015.  Parker has been an artist in residence at the Archie Bray Foundation, Red Lodge Clay Center, Holter Museum of Art and the International Ceramics Studio in Kecskemét, Hungary.  She has been an instructor with the Archie Bray Foundation, Holter Museum of Art and Central Washington University.  She currently resides in Ellensburg, Washington, where she is an Artist in Residence/Ceramics technician/Ceramic Instructor at Gallery One Visual Art Center. 

Artist Statement-I believe in the value of hand made objects in an increasingly industrialized world.  Contemporary issues associated with waste, commercial manufacturing and resulting practices such as repurposing, recycling, and the DIY movement influence my work.  Working in clay, I explore the spaces that exist between maker and user, disposable and reusable, sentimental and material value.  Through experiencing a handmade object, I want my audience to consider the consequences of a disposable culture and rethink standard discarding practices.

May 4 - 25, 2018 - In and Out of the Garden

An exhibit featuring works by Chris Kelsey, Mark Moore and Gina Freuen with ceramic works that can be used in the garden or to display the bounty of the garden. Mother's Day gift plantings in mini containers.

April 6 - 30, 2018 - Rob McKirdie & Tybre Newcomer - "Metamaquette"

Annual Invitational exhibit featuring the work of professionally working ceramic educators from our region.

Titled "Metamaquette," Trackside Studio Ceramic Art Gallery featured “ models for future works”  by Spokane Falls Community College Art Department Faculty, Rob McKirdie and Tybre Newcomer.

The genesis of the exhibition comes from the Greek word “Meta" meaning beyond and the French word “maquette" meaning model, translating to “beyond the model."  The key to understanding the exhibition is that the maquette is not only a tool to explore future works; it embodies the thought process and state of mind when the work was created and is an artform itself.

Rob McKirdie joined the fine arts faculty at Spokane Falls Community College in 2015. He teaches classes in drawing, 3D Design and sculpture. He works with primarily wood and metal integrating found and fabricated objects together. His artistic practice focuses on mold making, fabrication and metal casting. Rob earned a BS in Sculpture and a BFA in Studio Practices in 2011 from Portland State University and an MFA in Sculpture from Rhode Island School of Design. A professional artist, Rob has shown nationally in galleries and museums. His work focusing on the intersection on technology and material culture.

Rob McKirdie Artist Statement:  “The Things that Shake Loose…”

Things that shake loose are often pieces of material culture that separate themselves from a larger context and settle within the mundane corners of transient paths. Because I am myself a transient and contingent human being, I find myself searching in those mundane corners for the sediment of material culture. It is here that I find my raw source material and motivation as a sculptor. As I transfer those things that shake loose from one mundane corner of the world to my own space I develop an interior dialogue with those things, rather like an archaeologist trying to reconstruct the identity of a particular culture through collected and discarded materials. My dialogue with the collected materials involves an in-depth physical and emotional investigation of the limits and impactfulness inherent within each object, and the possible relationships between that object and other objects or physical elements. I then test my findings against other notions or narratives that attempt to explore illuminating codes of the nexus, genesis, or revelation implicit in those materials that I have collected as a peripatetic traveler.

As a sculptor I am constantly testing the concepts of joinery and craftsmanship in relation to my source material. Through an investigations of that material I hope to come to a fuller understanding of each piece I collect. Such an understanding can present itself seamlessly or, at times, crudely, depending upon the limitations contained in the materials themselves. The connections I discover and represent in my work intend to express a fuller statement of the properties and possibilities or objects within a new contextual framework. Upon completion, my work suggests new identities, new ways of seeing, which not only echo the illuminating code of the past through the material but, discovers a new energy--ranging from the spiritual and sacred, to interactive process and playfulness, which in the end may be the same thing.

Tybre Newcomer was born and raised in Springfield, Missouri where he received his BFA in Ceramics at Missouri State University. He went on to receive his MFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology’s-School for American Crafts with an emphasis in Ceramic Sculpture and a minor in Furniture Design. Tybre was an Artist in Residence at the Tainan National University of the Arts in Tainan, Taiwan and at Midwestern State University and in Wichita Falls, TX. He has taught at several institutions before joining Spokane Falls Community College in 2016 as an Instructor of Art. In addition to teaching, he maintains an active studio and exhibits his work nationally.

February 2 - March 30, 2018- Chris Kelsey- "Tangentia" Out From the Arc

Trackside Studio featured for the month of February, ceramic sculpture by Trackside Studio founder, Chris Kelsey. Chris’s feature exhibit focuses on forms that have evolved from his ongoing research and personal development of ceramic composition with horizontal and vertical line intersecting a focal point sphere. Ceramic works are wood and electric fired, free standing and wall hung.

December 1, 2017 - January 12, 2018, Cup of Joy

Third annual group invitational of drinking vessels, cup, mug, yunomi, sake, stein, goblet, functional or non-functional. Over 30 invited artists will exhibit up to 4 cup forms for our holiday gift giving season, shipped from all corners of the United States. 

To preview complete "Cup of Joy" exhibit, click on this link to see our Facebook Photo Album:  CLICK HERE

Participants:  Sarah Beaty - Fort Yukon, Alaska, Robert Beishline - Bellingham, WA, Victoria Christen - Portland, OR, Donna Flanery - Missoula, MT, Gina Freuen - Spokane, WA, Anthony Gaudino - Gig Harbor, WA, Jordan Jones - Freeland, WA, Chris Kelsey - Spokane, WA, Justin Lambert - Jupiter, FL, Brenda Lichman - Wichita, KS, Ron Linn - Portland, OR, Beth Lo - Missoula, MT, Loren Lukens - Seattle, WA, Sarah Magar - Sooke B.C. Canada, Dennis Meiners, Portland, OR, Mark Moore - Spokane, WA, Mardis Nenno, Spokane, WA, Tyber Newcomer - Pasco, WA, Reid Ozaki - Tacoma, WA, Ronan Kyle Peterson, Chapel Hill, NC, Chris Pickett - Pocatello, ID, Aubrey Purdy Rude - Spokane, WA, Stephen Robison, Ellensburg, WA, Mat Rude - Spokane, WA, Sam Scott - Seattle, WA, Jill Smith - Spokane, WA, Lauren Smith - Great Falls, MT, James Tingey, Enterprise, OR, Ken Turner - Seattle, WA,  Emily Free Wilson - Helena, MT, Tara Wilson - Helena, MT, May Wong - Stuart, FL

August 25 - September 23, 2017 - Annual Guest Artist Exhibition - Loren Lukens, Seattle, WA

• Opening Reception: Friday, August 25, 5 - 8 pm

• First Friday, September 1, 5 - 8 pm

• Closing reception, MEET THE ARTIST - Friday, September 22, 5 - 8 pm

        WORKSHOP BY LOREN LUKENS - Saturday, September 23, 10 AM - 4 PM (Workshop Link)

Biography
I discovered clay and pottery making as an art student in the 1970’s and it was love at first sight. It has been my passion and livelihood for more than 40 years. Brace Point Pottery is the studio/gallery and home in beautiful downtown Arbor Heights, West Seattle, that I have shared with my wife, Beth Kirchhoff (pianist, opera coach and conductor), since 1998.

Artist Comment
The beginnings of humankind go hand in hand with the beginnings of pottery. Of contemporary craft media, only basket making is as fundamental. The shapes of pottery are the shapes of the human body, and are named such: lip, foot, shoulder. They are shapes we know very well on a level beneath our consciousness. My intent is to apply contemporary interpretation to traditional form and purpose by creating objects for people to use and enjoy.
As an art student, Form and Function drew me to pottery, but painting has been an increasingly important aspect to my work. My best pots resolve the difficulty of painting in three dimensions, while maintaining the integrity of the form.
My glazing technique is squirt bottle “Art Marks” under a casually sprayed landscape of glazes. High temperature reduction firing allows a saturation of color and glaze/clay interaction especially with iron and titanium bearing glazes and the possibility of unpredictable aventurine crystal formation as well as the dramatic and somewhat elusive copper red. Porcelain clay provides a bright, white backdrop to enhance color response and increase durability

June 2 - 30, 2017- "Stoke by Stoke"   Wood Fired Ceramics from the Kelsey Anagama

       When you drop wood into the open door of a wood fired kiln it is called stoking. Stoking continues from the time you light a match in the kiln to the moment you extinguish it. This process of building heat in a kiln can last any where from 56 - 110 hours. Over the last year, local ceramic artist, Chris Kelsey has designed and then completed the construction of a wood fired anagama kiln, the only one of its type in Eastern Washington. On Sunday, May 20th at 11 AM, a group of ceramic artists: Chris Kelsey, Mark Moore, Mike Buck, Brian Joyce, Mardis Nenno, & Dennis Smith brought their ceramic pieces out to Chris Kelsey’s finished kiln, located in the Little Spokane River Valley on the property of ceramic artist Gina Freuen, and began the process of loading the interior of the kiln for its inaugural firing. The match was lit at 8 pm and stoking continued around the clock through Thursday, May 24th @ midnight. Temperatures were reached and held inside the kiln, through continuous stoking of around 2300 degrees. Crew members, Julie & Chris Kelsey, Mark Moore, Mike Buck, Dennis Smith, Gina Freuen and Mardis Nenno stoked 6 hour shifts or more each day. It will cool without opening for 6 days at which time all the participants and supporters of this venture will meet to unbrick the door and begin the celebrational unloading of the ceramic wares that were loaded into it over 2 weeks prior.  Out of the ashes of the kiln will be carried richly toned, rusty colored, smoky hued pieces of stoneware and porcelain pottery and sculpture that have qualities unlike comparable piecesfired in electric or gas fired environments. To this end was the original intent in building a kiln of this quality when the idea was hatched over a year ago.

From Wikipedia: An anagama (a Japanese term meaning "cave kiln") consists of a firing chamber with a firebox at one end and a flue at the other. Although the term "firebox" is used to describe the space for the fire, there is no physical structure separating the stoking space from the pottery space. The term anagama describes single-chamber kilns built in a sloping tunnel shape. In fact, ancient kilns were sometimes built by digging tunnels into banks of clay.
The anagama is fueled with firewood, in contrast to the electric or gas-fueled kilns commonly used by most contemporary potters. A continuous supply of fuel is needed for firing, as wood thrown into the hot kiln is consumed very rapidly. Stoking occurs round the clock until a variety of variables are achieved including the way the molten pots look inside the kiln, the temperatures reached and sustained, the amount of ash applied, the wetness of the walls and the pots, etc.

Burning wood not only produces heat of up to 1400°C (2,500 °F), it also produces fly ash and volatile salts. Wood ash settles on the pieces during the firing, and the complex interaction between flame, ash, and the minerals of the clay body forms a natural ash glaze. This glaze may show great variation in color, texture, and thickness, ranging from smooth and glossy to rough and sharp. The placement of pieces within the kiln distinctly affects the pottery's appearance, as pieces closer to the firebox may receive heavy coats of ash, or even be immersed in embers, while others deeper in the kiln may only be softly touched by ash effects. Other factors that depend on the location include temperature and oxidation/reduction. Besides location in the kiln, (as with other fuel-fired updraft kilns) the way pieces are placed near each other affects the flame path, and, thus, the appearance of pieces within localized zones of the kiln can vary as well. It is said that loading an anagama kiln is the most difficult part of the firing. The potter must imagine the flame path as it rushes through the kiln, and use this sense to paint the pieces with fire.

The length of the firing depends on the volume of the kiln and may take anywhere from 48 hours to 12 or more days. The kiln generally takes the same amount of time to cool down. Records of historic firings in large Asian kilns shared by several village potters describe several weeks of steady stoking per firing.

A selection of ceramic works from this inaugural firing will be featured in the Trackside Studio Ceramic Art Gallery for June’s First Friday, June 2nd, from 5 to 8 pm. Chris Kelsey, Mark Moore and Gina Freuen will display the featured works along with representational pieces from this inauguralfiring by Mike Buck, Brian Joyce, Mardis Nenno & Dennis Smith.  Photos of the whole loading, firing and unloading will be hung and maybe hot dogs will be roasting out in front of the gallery on the sidewalk.

May 5 - 26, 2017- Jakob Haßlacher & James Tingey ~ LH Project

Trackside Studio Ceramic Art Gallery featured the ceramic works of LH Project Resident Artist James Tingey and LH Project Founder, CEO and President Jakob Haßlacher for the month of May. Featured works included large scale sculptures representing Jakob’s work impacted by his experience witnessing the falling of the Berlin Wall and remaining captivated by “Walls” whether modern or ancient along with functional forms by James. James Tingey is the LH Project Resident Coordinator and Studio Technician.  The LH Project is a non-profit residency program in Joseph, Oregon catering to Artists who imbibe in the Ceramic Arts

• Jakob Haßlacher @Meissen / Video Link

• Link to LH Project: Click Here

April 7 - 28, 2017- Otis Bardwell, Instructor of Art, North Idaho College, Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho

Annual Invitational exhibit featuring the work of professionally working ceramic educators from our region.

"Dreams of Reason"

Otis Bardwell (April 2017)

The title for this body of work is inspired by an etching of Francisco Goya, “El sueño de la razón produce monstrous,” (“The sleep of reason produces monsters.”) I first encountered the title quoted in French “Les songes de la raison…” which perhaps lends itself more readily to “dreams” than “sleep.” Whatever the case, whether they came into being as the result of sleep or dreams, monsters are produced.

March 3 - 31, 2017- Gina Freuen, "The Trailing Vine"

Exhibit featuring older ceramic works and pieces from December / January by Gina Freuen carried over from her exhibit at Lewis-Clark Center for Arts and History, Lewiston, Idaho. Also, photographs by Matt Vielle, Hamilton Photo. Close up shots of Gina Freuen ceramics.

Matt Vielle has photographed Gina’s ceramics for over a decade. Included in “The Trailing Vine” exhibit will be a series of small 5” x 7” photographs, magnifying the beautiful crystallizations that occur during the wood-fired and wood-soda-fired process on the surfaces of the ceramics on display by Gina Freuen during the month of March.

“The Trailing Vine” An exhibit of both older and new works that feature surfaces rendered through carved and stamped imagery that reflect on life’s passages; where does a trailing vine lead us, where will a wind blown leaf fall or where will a floating feather land?
Just as the trailing vine takes its own course, the leaf falling from the tree has no specific landing spot and the feather is at the whim of the wind, so goes the end result of ceramic works that have been fired in wood and soda fired environments. Just as we try and control our lives and sometimes fail, the control of results in the atmospheric fired kiln allow some human controlled precisions but usually offers the magic beauty or the frustrated angst of the kiln controlled results.

"I am thankful to be an artist that can seek refuge in the studio and make words without talking but through visual representation.” Gina Freuen

February 3 - 24, 2017- Juried Exhibit - "Boxed Out Bottled Up"

“In conjunction with the City of Spokane's "Spokane Arts’ "SATURATE" a city-wide collaboration calling attention to Spokane's under-recognized artists and as part of the Visual Arts Tour in February, Trackside Studio juried and curated artwork opened up to all media reflecting on the theme of “Boxed Out, Bottled Up.” To help deepen the conversation on race, identity, and culture in our city and beyond.

Participants: Jennifer Cochran, Jeff Ferguson, Maria Amalia Fisch, Gina Freuen, Chris Kelsey, Christopher Lamb, Madilyn Lewin, Ginger Oakes, Dennis Randall Smith, Angelika Wilson-Wipp, Gordon Wilson

December 2, 2016 - January 13, 2017, Cup of Joy

A group invitational of drinking vessels, cup, mug, yunomi, sake, stein, goblet, functional or non-functional. Invited artists will exhibit up to 4 cup forms for our holiday gift giving season, shipped from all corners of the United States.

Participating Artists: Sarah Beaty - Fort Yukon, Alaska, Robert Beishline - Bellingham, WA, Victoria Christen - Portland, OR, Donna Flanery - Missoula, MT, Gina Freuen - Spokane, WA, Jordan Jones - Freeland, WA, Chris Kelsey - Spokane, WA, Justin Lambert - Jupiter, FL, Brenda Lichman - Wichita, KS, Ron Linn - Portland, OR, Loren Lukens - Seattle, WA, Sarah Magar - Sooke B.C. Canada, Mark Moore - Spokane, WA, Tyber Newcomber - Pasco, WA, Reid Ozaki - Tacoma, WA, Ronan Kyle Peterson, Chapel Hill, NC, Kelly Page Piccolo - Clancy, MT, Chris Pickett - Pocatello, ID, Aubrey Purdy Rude - Spokane, WA, Mat Rude - Spokane, WA, Sam Scott - Seattle, WA, Jill Smith - Spokane, WA, Lauren Smith - Great Falls, MT, Eric Van Eimeran - Helena, MT, Levi Vincent - Bellingham, WA, Emily Free Wilson - Helena, MT, Tara Wilson - Helena, MT, May Wong - Stuart, FL

November 4 - 26, 2016 - WHITE Works

An exhibit of ceramic forms reflecting the winter white of our upcoming holiday seasons by Chris Kelsey, Mark Moore and Gina Freuen.

October 7 - 28, 2016 - KILN Works

An exhibit of new works from summer and fall kiln firings by Chris Kelsey, Mark Moore and Gina Freuen. 

September 2 - 30, 2016 - WALL Works

An exhibit of works by Chris Kelsey, Mark Moore and Gina Freuen. The September exhibit at Trackside Studio Ceramic Art Gallery, September 2 - 30,  features new ceramic forms, both functional and sculptural, designed specifically for vertical wall mount.

August 5th & 6th, 2016, Annual "Cleaning Off the Shelves," Summer Sale

Annual studio sale of ceramics by Gina Freuen, Chris Kelsey and Mark Moore. $25. Grab Bags! Each bag had one piece by Gina, Chris and Mark in it. Blind picks.

June 3 – June 24, 2016

Juried Exhibition of ceramic works by Washington Clay Arts Association Members

http://washingtonclayarts.org

"Taste of Summer @ Trackside Studio"  The Trackside exhibit, "Taste of Summer" featured juried works from WCA members that had a focus on function and a serving purpose for glorious summer recipes.

Along with the Trackside exhibit "Taste of Summer," Kolva Sullivan Gallery featured a juried WCA exhibit with a theme of "Changing Plains."  A juried exhibit of WCA ceramic artists that illustrated the beauty of the Palouse and its rolling plains. Both functional and sculptural works were exhibited.

Two demonstrations, Saturday, June 4th, were also part of this weekend along with the WCA summer social event. The demonstrations were held at Gonzaga University's ceramics facility, Jundt Art Building, 9 AM - 4 PM. Featured artists were: Ryan LaBar and Donna Flanery.

• http://www.ryanlabar.com

• http://artaxis.org/donna-flanery/

May 6 – May 31, 2016

"ASH Works," Ceramics Fired in Atmospheric Environments by Chris Kelsey, Gina Freuen & Mark Moore

April 1 - May 6, 2016

Stephen Robison & Kathleen Guss - Ellensburg, WA

Annual Invitational exhibit featuring the work of professionally working ceramic educators from our region.

• GALLERY HOURS: Monday - Friday, 10 AM to 2:00 PM

• Photo album of full exhibit, click here!

Robison / Guss BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

Both Kathleen and Stephen received their BFA from the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater. Stephen also attended The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and Chisholm Institute of Technology in Melbourne Australia. Stephen also received his MA and MFA from the University of Iowa, Iowa City.
Stephen and Kathleen have been instructors and resident artists at the Archie Bray Foundation and The Appalachian Center for Crafts. Stephen has been a professor in ceramics at; Belmont University, University of Missouri, Virginia Commonwealth University, North Central Michigan College and The University of North Carolina. Stephen is presently a Professor at Central Washington University where he is in charge of undergraduate and graduate students.
Kathleen is a full time potter and also teaches workshops in ceramics.
Kathleen and Stephen have been working together for 20 years. Some of the work they do is fully collaborative; they also go off on their own individual projects and pieces. Their main collaboration are their two boys, Leo and Gus.

March 4 – 25, 2016

Mark Moore

"Marchez Jardin: Fossils from Future Folly," centered, altered and asymmetric pots by Trackside partner Mark Moore that ask; where are we, where are we going and why?

Receptions:

• March 4, First Friday Arts Tour, 5 - 8 pm

• March 5, Saturday, noon - 4 pm

• GALLERY HOURS: Tuesday - Friday, 10 AM to 2:00 PM

February 5 – 26, 2016

T 4 2 an exhibit of Teapots, sugars and creamers, A sweetheart of a show!

Gina Freuen, Chris Kelsey and Mark Moore.

December 4,  2015 -  January 16, 2016

1st Biennial "Ode to Bowls"

 “Ode to Bowls” an invitational exhibit of the ceramic bowl form, one-of-a-kind interpretations of a bowl, from tea bowl to punch bowl, functional or sculptural by 36 professional studio artists and educators of the ceramic arts. Artists were invited from all corners of the United States with bowls arriving in the Trackside Studio from Washington to Florida, Alaska to Texas, Oregon to Maine, created in low-fire, mid-range, high-fire, wood-soda-fired environments, hand-built, wheel-thrown, stamped, painted, carved, and cast form.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.800924350018805.1073741845.416040541840523&type=3

Participants: Sarah Beaty, Ft. Yukon, AK, John Benn, Shelton, WA, Barb Campbell, Corvallis, OR, Gina Freuen, Spokane, WA, Anthony Gaudino, Tacoma, WA, Martha Grover, Bethel, Maine, Lois Harbaugh, Seattle, WA, Sarah Jaeger, Helena, MT, Chris Kelsey, Spokane, WA, Justin Lambert, Jupiter, Florida, Dick Lehman, Elkhart, Indiana, Loren Lukens, Seattle, WA, Rick Mahaffey, Tacoma, WA, Mark Moore, Spokane, WA,  Sean O’Connell, Chicago, IL, Hiroshi Ogawa, Elkton, OR, Reid Ozaki, Tacoma, WA, Ronan Kyle Peterson, Chapel Hill, NC, Chris Pickett, West Plains, NY, Aubrey Purdy Rude, Spokane, WA, Alison Reintjes, Missoula, Montana, Stephen Robison/Kathleen Guss, Ellensburg, WA, Mat Rude, Spokane, WA, Deborah Schwartzkopf, Seattle, WA, Sam Scott, Shoreline, WA, Jill Smith, Spokane, WA, Lauren Smith, Butte, Montana, Don Sprague, Portland, OR, Al Tennant, Coupeville, WA, Ken Turner, Seattle, WA, Bill Wilkey, Helena, Montana, Emily Free Wilson, Helena, MT.

November 6 - 28, 2015

Chris Kelsey -  "Cut to the Core"

A feature exhibit of the cumulative ceramic works by Trackside Studio artist and owner.

October 2 - October 30, 2015

New Ceramics from Summer Kiln Firings - Gina Freuen, Chris Kelsey and Mark Moore

Trackside Studio opens it 2015 Fall exhibition season with new works by Gina Freuen, Chris Kelsey and Mark Moore; works produced this summer and fired in a late August wood-soda kiln firing. This three-day firing resulted in luscious smoky forms ranging from hand held cups and bowls to large vase and sculpture forms. 

September 4 - 30, 2015

Annual Guest Artist Exhibition - Barb Campbell & Reid Ozaki.

Barb Campbell, Corvallis, Oregon and Reid Ozaki, Tacoma, WA were Trackside Studio Ceramic Art Gallery’s September / 2015 feature artists. Both artists are similar in that they fire their work in high fire atmospheric kilns but Barb works in porcelains, intimate sized forms with a focus on texture and hand building. Reid, long time educator and studio ceramicist is the consummate wheel technician with works ranging in scale from hand held to large vessel forms including beautiful Ikebana vessels.

• www.ReidOzaki.com

• www.BarbCampbellCeramics.com

August 7 - 29, 2015, "Cleaning out the Cupboards" 

Annual summer sale of ceramics by Gina Freuen, Chris Kelsey and Mark Moore. $25. Grab Bags!

June 5 - June 30, 2015 "Local Raku." 

A Trackside invitational featuring: Leslie Ahrens, Lee Ayars, Daryl Baird, Liz Bishop, Jeff Harris, David Hutchens, Ginger Oakes, and Jill Smith, local and regional ceramic artists with a studio focus on the Raku process.

April 3 - April 30, 2015 - Mat Rude and Aubrey Purdy Rude

Annual Invitational exhibit featuring the work of 2 professionally working ceramic artists from our region.

December 5, 2014 -  January 30, 2015 - “Cup of Joy”

Invitational exhibit of local and regional ceramic artists featuring cup, mug, tankard, goblet, sake, and yunomi. Participants: Kurt Anderson, Washingtonville, NY, Sarah Beaty, Ft. Yukon, AK, Collista Bejjani, Colbert, WA, Barb Campbell, Corvallis, Oregon, Matthew Causey, North Carolina, Chandra DeBuse, Kansas City, MO, Josh DeWeese, Bozeman, MT, Gina Freuen, Spokane, WA, Anthony Gaudino, Tacoma, WA, Andrew Gilliatt, Wichita Falls, TX, Martha Grover, Helena, MT, Chris Gustin, Dartmouth, MA, David Hutchens, Hope, Idaho, Sarah Jaeger, Helena, MT, Brian Joyce, Spokane, WA, Chris Kelsey, Spokane, WA, Justin Lambert, Jupiter, Florida, Dick Lehman, Elkhart, Indiana, Loren Lukens, Seattle, WA, Skip Lyman, Olalla, WA, Mark Moore, Spokane, WA, Lisa Nappa, Spokane, WA, Reid Ozaki, Tacoma, WA, Ronan Kyle Peterson, Chapel Hill, NC, Chris Pickett, West Palm Beach, FL, Aubrey Purdy Rude, Spokane, WA, Stephen Robison, Kathleen Guss, Ellensburg, WA, Mat Rude, Spokane, WA, Deborah Schwartzkopf, Seatttle, WA, Sam Scott, Shoreline, WA, Jill Smith, Spokane, WA, Ken Turner, Seattle, WA, Natalie Warrens, Portland, OR, Tara Wilson, Montana City, MT
 

September 5 - 27, 2014 - Annual Guest Artist Exhibition. Josh DeWeese, Bozeman, Montana

April 4 - April 26, 2014 - Terry Gieber & Mardis Nenno 

Annual Invitational exhibit featuring the work of 2 professionally working ceramic artists from our region.

Decmber 6, 2013 - January 31, 2014 - Northwest Ceramics Invitational

Trackside Studio Ceramic Art Gallery & Kolva Sullivan Gallery, Curated by Gina Freuen

The selected ceramic artists represent educational institutions including: Gonzaga University, Spokane Falls Community College, Central University, Tacoma Community College, University of Montana and Montana State.  Another group of artists were chosen as representatives from regional ceramic studios:  Archie Bray in Montana, LH Project in Oregon, Pottery Northwest and Digipen in Seattle, Washington.

 From Spokane: Lee Ayars, Terry Geiber, Chris Kelsey, Mark Moore, Mardis Nenno, & Lee Ayars.  Regional Washington Artists: John Benn / Colleen Gallagher, Carol Gouthro, Virginia Jenkins, Ken Lundemo, Rick Mahaffey, Stephen Robison / Kathleen Guss, Steve Sauer, Deborah Schwartzkopf, Al Tennant and Ken Turner.  Montana artists:  Chuck Aydlett, Josh DeWeese, Julia Galloway, Kenyon Hansen, Trey Hill, Chris Pickett and Tara Wilson. Oregon Artists: Barb, Campbell, Terry Inokuma, Ryan LaBar, Hiroshi Ogawa and Kelly Rathbone Garrett