2012–2013 Residents (Backrow L to R): Peter Christian Johnson, Steven Young Lee, Sunshine Cobb, Sean O'Connell, Andrew Gilliatt, Chris Pickett, Jeff Campana (Front L to R): Jonathan Read, Kenyon Hansen, Mel Griffin, Alanna DeRocchi Not pictured: Giselle Hicks

What defines a Bray residency and the reasons for doing one turn out to be as varied and unique as the individuals involved. Some artists come to develop a portfolio for graduate school, some use their residency as a transition from school to establishing their own studio and others see it as a chance to escape from daily routine and recharge their creative enthusiasm. For all artists, it is a period of time to focus intensely on their work, explore new ideas and techniques, and push their work to new levels.

Probably the most important reason for coming to the Bray is the opportunity to work within a community of artists actively creating art. At the Bray, artists from around the world with a vast range of experiences and diverse aesthetic approaches, cultures and perspectives come together. Sharing discoveries, frustrations and triumphs, and working together over an extended period of time establishes friendships and connections that open new paths, develop careers, and change lives.

Residencies range from a few months (short-term) to up to two years (long-term). New residents are chosen once a year in March by the Bray's director and a rotating jury of two other ceramic artists. The selections are based on the quality of the work, its artistic merit, and the diversity of the prospective group in terms of work, background, and stage of career development. The diversity of the group is very important; an undergraduate doing figurative sculpture may be working next to a retired professor making functional pots, and each will learn from and teach the other.