Arts & Entertainment
New pottery studio building community through ceramics
Published
4 years agoon
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AdminBy Mira Brody ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
BOZEMAN – Heather Hodapp noticed the father-daughter duo at an evening clay class right away; the daughter was excessively apologetic, a trait Hodapp recognized as a common symptom of autism, a habit her son struggles with as well. She explained to them that a pottery studio is a place where mistakes are expected and celebrated—a place for learning.
By the end of the night, the apologizing had ceased as the pair was immersed in their collaborative art project.
The Bozeman Community Kiln is the first studio space of its kind in the Gallatin Valley and has drawn budding artists from all over the region—including Big Sky. It offers open studio time, classes for all ages and levels of experience, private and semi-private studio space for professional artists and a gathering place for group pottery-centric events. The studio opened in December and is owned and operated by Hodapp and her business partner Ashleah Elias.
Hodapp and Elias met on the Twentynine Palms Military Base in Southern California in 2009 when Elias, a registered LPN, was assigned as a home help nurse to Hodapp while she cared for her son who struggled with respiratory issues. Both are military spouses whose husbands were discharged due to traumatic head injuries in 2011. The duo quickly formed a bond over the shared struggles of supporting a veteran in recovery. After Elias and her family landed in Bozeman while her husband participated in Warriors and Quiet Waters, they fell in love with the area and Hodapp followed suit shortly after.
“I learned the hard way that you have to have a community. It’s a support structure that you don’t realize you need until you don’t have it,” said Hodapp. “It’s amazingly important to just have people you can surround yourself with, that you can be comfortable around.”
Elias is perusing her bachelor’s in fine arts with the goal of becoming an art therapist. Hodapp has a background in business management and retail, which she has put to work managing the studio’s administrative duties and has enjoyed learning ceramics along the way. Both are driven by their inspiration to build a space where people can use art as a part of their healing process—whatever they may be going through.
“Ceramics is absolutely amazing in helping people retrain their brain and hand-eye coordination after they’ve had a traumatic brain injury,” Elias said. “A lot of times when someone has been through trauma, just getting their hands into clay helps their mind process what has happened to them. Then, when you’re done, you’ve created something functional.”
Like many art projects, the early days of Bozeman Community Kiln were ones of trial and error. They acquired their studio space off of Jackrabbit Lane from the previous occupant: a vehicle repair shop. An accident involving a semi colliding into the side of their building stripped it of electricity, the water pump was out of service and there was motor oil splattered about the walls.
The women, in their dark garage one evening, decided that it was going to work. Elias would come in early between finals to clean the walls and make the space habitable. Local ceramist Keith Gilyard helped them build a functional sink and Garage Clay, a local pottery supply store, partnered with them to ensure their tool inventory was fully stocked in time for their December opening.
Elias contrasts her studio space to that of the healthcare system she’s worked in for so long, where patients are often scared, sick or frustrated. In an art studio, you are allowed to let those stresses fall away and work through whatever is on your mind while at the same time creating something of use.
“We want a space for people to continue, whatever that may mean to them,” said Elias. “The world is chaos. Everybody’s going through something, nobody ever has time. But you come in, sit down, and maybe you’ll make a pinch pot. It makes you feel like you’ve controlled something.”
Although their grand opening, originally slated for May 22 and 23, has been postponed due to concerns surrounding COVID-19, Elias and Hodapp are hard at work building on what they’ve started at the Bozeman Community Kiln, fostering an art-driven, positive environment for people to come back to when we can once again gather as a community.
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Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
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March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
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169 Snowy Mountain Circle
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
Sundays, April 14, 21 and 28, 2024
Noon until 6PM.
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Come join us at Cowboy Coffee as we celebrate a fun night of drinks, games, and meeting others within the community. This event is from 6-8 and all are welcome
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Come join us at Cowboy Coffee as we celebrate a fun night of drinks, games, and meeting others within the community. This event is from 6-8 and all are welcome to come, if you don’t know who to bring come alone this is a great mixer event! This is an event hosted by Big Sky OUT as we work to provide queer safe spaces throughout the community.
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(Sunday) 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
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Cowboy Coffee
25 Town Center Ave. Big Sky, MT 59716