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  • About
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  • Education
    • Artist Amplified Series
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Residency Application Open

Apply by March 1, 2027, for the opportunity to join The Bray. Up to four long-term residences are available, along with ten summer residencies.

Apply Today!
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Upcoming Events

View the events calendar.

Kolva Sullivan Exhibition

October 2 @ 8:00 am - October 31 @ 5:00 pm
Kolva Sullivan Gallery
Learn More about Kolva Sullivan Exhibition

Artist Amplified; Shalene Valenzuela

October 8 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Frances Senska Center for Education and Engagement
Learn More about Artist Amplified; Shalene Valenzuela

Bray Closed – Indigenous People’s Day

October 12 @ 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Learn More about Bray Closed – Indigenous People’s Day

Educational Fellowship Exhibition

November 6 @ 8:00 am - December 12 @ 5:00 pm
Learn More about Educational Fellowship Exhibition
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Diversity and Inclusion at The Bray

The Bray exists to promote excellence and enhance commitment and investment in the ceramic arts while actively working towards increased inclusion, representation, belonging and equity in the ceramics community. See our Strategic Plan to learn more.

The Bray respectfully acknowledges all Indigenous communities — past, present, future — whose land we reside on in what is now known as Helena, Montana, including the Salish, Crow, Bannock, and Blackfeet tribes. See our Native Lands Acknowledgement to learn more.

Get to Know Us

InstagramArchie Bray on Instagram  FacebookArchie Bray on Facebook  YoutubeArchie Bray on Youtube

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Promoting excellence in the ceramic arts since 1951🏺
Education | Residencies | Gallery | Clay Business
"... a fine place to work" - Archie Bray Sr.

2-DAY WORKSHOP ⚠️ China Painting Today: Image, Or 2-DAY WORKSHOP ⚠️

China Painting Today: Image, Ornament, Meaning
December 5–6, 2026 
@bradleyklemceramics 

This hands-on workshop with instructor Bradley Klem explores China painting as a distinctive approach to image-making in ceramics, both a historical practice and a contemporary mode, emphasizing image, pattern, and ornament as content.

Through demonstrations and guided studio work, students will learn material preparation, brushwork, pigment behavior, and firing considerations specific to China painting. This workshop is designed for artists of all levels, whether you are new to ceramics, a painter interested in exploring new media, or a practicing ceramicist looking to expand your skills.

Register for this 2-day workshop at the link in our bio. 🔗
Returning to The Bray as a Visiting Artist, Heesoo Returning to The Bray as a Visiting Artist, Heesoo Lee is currently creating large-scale work during her stay. Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Heesoo earned her BA in Art from Ewha University. She first joined The Bray as a summer resident in 2013 before returning in 2014 as a long-term resident artist. Since then, she has returned to The Bray as a Visiting Artist and currently resides in Helena, MT, where she works as a full-time studio artist.

Heesoo Lee’s work explores the vulnerability of the human condition through the metaphor of the natural world. Her artistic language, formed by observations of material, nature, and place, engages with themes of identity, connection, and time. In describing subtle variations of light, texture, color, and shadow as they exist in nature, Lee is, fundamentally, illuminating a range of human emotions and the humbling reality of being a feeling person in a vast and changeable world.

@heesooceramics 

View Heesoo's work in The Bray Gallery in person or online!
New work in The Bray Gallery! Come check out new New work in The Bray Gallery!

Come check out new work from Past Residents Alison Reintjes, Jessica Brandl, Heesoo Lee, and Miranda Howe. Stop by the gallery and see what’s new!

@alisonreintjes 
@jessicabrandl 
@heesooceramics 
@bone_springs_art_space 

#archiebraygallery #archiebrayfoundation #ceramics #visithelena
Join us tomorrow, September 10, from 5:30–6:30 PM Join us tomorrow, September 10, from 5:30–6:30 PM to view the Second Year Showcase celebrating Jake Brodsky, Marian Draper, and Samuel Sarmiento as they enter their second year as Resident Artists at The Bray. On view in the Pottery Gallery until October 24 during regular operating hours.

Enjoy refreshments and chat with the artists before our Artist Amplified event, featuring talks by all three artists. Artist Amplified will follow directly after until 8 PM in the Frances Senska Center for Education & Engagement building.
Also in the studio is Visiting Artist Nathan Stanf Also in the studio is Visiting Artist Nathan Stanfield, a Seattle-based artist exploring form with clay. He earned his AA in Printmaking from Mira Costa College and BFA in Sculpture from San Diego State University. His work has been exhibited nationally and is included in various private and public collections. 

Nathan Stanfield’s work is an exercise in brevity that reflects the energy, density, and permanence of working in clay. Within the processes he employs in his practice, there are aesthetic references being drawn from post-war era artists in a celebration of material. His interest in the abstract and unknown is reflected with the forms he explores and choice to distinctly refrain from providing much information or narration with his work. The work is characterized by its visual weight and heavy impasto application of colored engobes and accents. Stanfield is also constructing his work using clay made with soft brick and coarse sand in a subtractive technique that captures every instance. By working in a modest scale, he is able to minimize the form down to its most essential details.
Introducing Visiting Artist Natalia Arbelaez, a Co Introducing Visiting Artist Natalia Arbelaez, a Colombian American artist born and raised in Miami, Florida, to immigrant parents. She received her BFA from Florida International University and her MFA with an Enrichment Fellowship from The Ohio State University. Her work has been exhibited internationally, in museums, galleries, and included in various collections.

In her work, @natalia_arbelaez_ is a storyteller. She tells narratives about her Colombian family’s immigration, the pre-Columbian South American presence, and her American latchkey, after school cartoon childhood. All of these stories work together to create a multicomponent self-portrait of what it is like to be a Mestizo Colombian-American hybrid. Mining tidbits from historical research, familial narratives, and cartoon culture, she creates surreal stories in clay much in the way Gabriel García Márquez did with words, autobiographically narrating history with its ups and downs, its humor and tears.
The Educational Fellowship Application Deadline is The Educational Fellowship Application Deadline is 5 days away! ⌛

The Bray’s Educational Fellowship offers emerging professionals a unique opportunity to prepare for a sustainable career in the arts by gaining hands-on experience in ceramic arts education, community engagement, and nonprofit operations while continuing to develop their own artist practice. Rooted in learning through participation, the program provides dedicated time, space, mentorship, shared responsibilities, and individualized roles across The Bray to prepare Fellows for the greatest success in navigating careers in the arts.

Interested in applying? Applications for the January–June 2027 Cohort are due September 6 at midnight. Link in the bio!

#archiebrayfoundation #ceramicarts #helenamt #archiebrayeducation #ceramics
Introducing the Second Year Showcase celebrating J Introducing the Second Year Showcase celebrating Jake Brodsky, Marian Draper, and Samuel Sarmiento as they enter their second year as Resident Artists at The Bray. This showcase highlights the research, experimentation, and artistic growth that emerged throughout their first year in residence, offering a glimpse into the evolving ideas and practices that continue to shape their work. On view in the Pottery Gallery until October 24 during regular operating hours.

Please join us on September 10 from 5:30–6:30 PM to view the showcase, enjoy refreshments, and chat with the artists before our Artist Amplified event, featuring talks by all three artists. Artist Amplified will follow directly after until 8 PM in the Frances Senska Center for Education & Engagement building.

@jake.brodsky 
@mariandraperceramics 
@samuelsarmientostudio
Yeroham Ashagre, Long-Term Resident Welcoming @ye Yeroham Ashagre, Long-Term Resident

Welcoming @yeroham.dawit, an Ethiopian visual artist, to The Bray. Yeroham Ashagre received his BFA in Fine Arts from Addis Ababa University in 2022. In 2023, he moved to East Lansing, Michigan, to pursue his MFA in Studio Art at Michigan State University, and recently graduated in 2026. He is a figurative artist whose practice spans the mediums of drawing, sculpture, and ceramics, exploring themes such as religion, myths, sexuality, and violence.
As our Summer Residents wrap up their time at The As our Summer Residents wrap up their time at The Bray, their work can still be found in the gallery. Take a look at some of their current pieces!

Shop in person or online to discover more work from current and past Resident Artists.🏺✨

#archiebrayfoundation #archiebraygallery #ceramicarts #shoplocal
The 2026 Fall Experience Class lineup is here! 🍂 The 2026 Fall Experience Class lineup is here! 🍂
 
Whether you’re looking to try the pottery wheel for the first time, expand your skills, get creative with our new classes, or spend a fun and creative evening with someone special, there’s a class for you.
 
Registration for August–October classes is now open, with registration for our November classes opening on September 22. Classes are $58 per person.
 
Learn more and register through the link in our bio!
Recent Acquisitions: The Bray's Permanent Collecti Recent Acquisitions: The Bray's Permanent Collection has been extended to September 5! 🌞

Stop by the North Gallery and view the pieces submitted to our permanent collection by recent residents. ❤

Artwork in photo by Sarah Alsaied (left) and Aida Lizalde (right)
The Brickyard Bash is back, and what a night it wa The Brickyard Bash is back, and what a night it was! 🪩

Because of the incredible generosity of our sponsors, donors, volunteers, artists, and roughly 500 attendees, we brought this beloved event back in style. 🔥

The energy, creativity, and community support made it a tremendous success, and we are so deeply grateful.🫶 

Please join us in thanking the local businesses that invested in The Bray, our artists, and our community. The next time you need a product or service, consider supporting the businesses that support the arts.✨

Thank you for believing in the power of art, creativity, and community. 

Gold Sponsor
@helenahometeam 

Silver Sponsors
@dickandersonconstruction 
@mosaic_architecture 
@firstinterstate 
@radius.gallery 
@mudtools 
@amacobrent 

Bronze Sponsors
@joshuatreecabinetry 
@gulchdistillers 
D.A. Davidson
@baileypottery 
@stpeteshelena 
Sotek Solutions
Gentle Healing Yoga
@doubletree 
@thehawthornwine 
@mmanorthwest 

And a big thank you to @thelookingglass_mt for the wonderful photobooth and videos from the night!
Our Continuing Education classes are back, and reg Our Continuing Education classes are back, and registration is now open!✨

Whether you’re a total beginner or looking to inspire your existing studio practice, The Bray offers Adult (16+) continuing education classes for all ages, abilities, and backgrounds! Our Continuing Education classes are 10 weeks long and meet for 3 hours once a week!  Students are taught by professional artists and have access to open studio time 7 days a week from 8am-10pm (outside of other scheduled classes) to practice what they're learning.

Learn more and register today using the link in our bio!🔗
The Brickyard Bash wrapped with dancing, photos, a The Brickyard Bash wrapped with dancing, photos, and good company all around! 🎉 

So great having the Big Sky Mudflaps back on stage — the crowd never stopped moving. 🎶

Thank you all for an incredible event! 💛
The 2026 Live Auction was a hit! Thank you to eve The 2026 Live Auction was a hit!

Thank you to everyone who came out to support The Bray and bid on one-of-a-kind collabs between former Bray residents! 

Our Meloy-Stevenson award went to Michael Sherrill, founder of Mudtools. He was honored for his dedication to The Bray and the global ceramics community. 

We were also honored to announce that former Bray resident, Sarah Jaeger, has been nominated for the Montana Governor's Arts Award! 

A huge shoutout to our wonderful MCs, Julia Galloway and Josh DeWeese, and our Auctioneer, Hannah Busby!

Again, thank you all for a wonderful auction and your incredible support of The Bray!
The 2026 Brickyard Bash kicked off with the VIP re The 2026 Brickyard Bash kicked off with the VIP reception in the Shaner Studios! Mingling with friends and seeing the art from current residents was an incredible start to the evening!🪩
Corsages and boutonnieres? A homecoming staple.💐 Corsages and boutonnieres? A homecoming staple.💐

Our residents and volunteers have been hard at work creating hundreds of these for the Brickyard Bash this Saturday! Pull out your best homecoming dress or suit and get ready for a night of fun at The Bray! 🪩

Don't have tickets yet? We still have some left!🎟

Purchase tickets and register to bid using the link in our bio! 🔗
The blacksmith shop on The Bray's campus has stood The blacksmith shop on The Bray's campus has stood the test of time — and thanks to Preserve Montana's dedication, it'll continue to stand for years to come. 💪💚🔨

We're so grateful for their hard work stabilizing this historic space! 🙌

@preserve_montana 

This project is supported by a grant from The Foundation for Montana History.
The Bray Gallery is open on Saturday! Stop by duri The Bray Gallery is open on Saturday! Stop by during your weekend shopping and see the great pieces we have for sale! ☀️

Saturday: 12:00 pm-4:00 pm
Tuesday-Friday: 11:00 am-5:00 pm
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The Bray is a 501(c)(3) exempt organization under the Internal Revenue Code and all contributions to the Bray are deductible to the full extent allowed by law. For more information contact the Bray Development Office.