The Clay Studio of Missoula is proud to present a solo exhibition featuring the ceramic works of current Wood Fire artist in residence Scott McClellan. Scott received his BFA in ceramics from Utah State University. After graduating he worked as a studio technician at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and served as a long-term resident artist at Taos Clay in New Mexico. He graduated from the University of Missouri with his MFA in ceramics and a minor in sculpture in 2017, and will complete his residency at The Clay Studio of Missoula this summer.

Along Nine Mile Road are layers of clay sediments that provided the geological history of the Glacial Lake Missoua floods. These layers of clay are called rhythmites, referring to layers of strata that built up in rhythmic patterns. The floods dropped an iron rich clay while the shorelines washed up a more pure white clay. These strata provided evidence of the number of floods and time between each braking of the dam.

Scott has used these two clays mixed with manufactured minerals and wood ash to develop multiple clay bodies, slips, and glazes that he fires in wood kilns. The rhythm of making work for large anagama firings, causes him to work in strides. The information gained from one firing cannot be implemented for months before another firing takes place. Because of these cycles, his making comes in rhythmic patterns. The brushwork on his pieces are erratic patterns that flow from by subconscious. Reflecting on the glacial floods that carved rivers and ravines across the landscape, these meandering paths are abstractly mimicked through the process of creating compositions that are simultaneously strong but elegant.

Rhythmite: Works by Scott McClellan will be on display at the Clay Studio of Missoula from May 3-31 2018, with an opening on Friday, May 3 from 5:30-9pm. Gallery events are free and open to the public.