Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • FA L L 2 0 1 8 86 When my nephew, Dean Leeper, from Wisconsin was selected for the ceramics program at the Univer- sity of Montana, I was excited to show him why we so loved living in Montana. His first few months played out according to script as we happily introduced him to some of our favorite mountain haunts. However, as he got deeper and deeper into his art and worked alongside some of Montana's master ceramicists, he turned the tables and became my guide to a part of Montana that had been hiding in plain sight before my unseeing eyes. I have always known that Montana's scenic beauty serves as creativity's muse to inspire artistic expression. How could it not? Montana's vibrant colors, rough textures, towering mountains, deep dark forests and vast open prairies, clear blue lakes and rivers, and her famous big skies roiling with dramatic weather changes all intertwine and spark the imagination. But what I failed to compre- hend was the extent and depth that Montana's physical, geological, biological, and cultural esthetics converge within an artist's heart, mind, life, and expression. Montana provides far more than inspiration. It offers the raw substances and materials from which art is made. It houses the sup- port network and shapes the social character essential for the arts to grow. Its teeming wildlife exemplifies survival and determination, characteristics essential for the uncertainties of an artist's life. e hardships and rewards of its demanding and unforgiving landscapes produce artists of the same mold. Montana's artists reflect and incorporate it all. ey are independent. Fearless. Driven to do their best. Willing to experiment. Montana's geographic isolation creates a powerful sense of community for all its residents, but especially so for artists. While often garnering national and international recog- nition, Montana's artists look primarily to themselves for validation. Nowhere is the complex relationship between Montana and its art more apparent than in ceramics. Ceramics in many ways is an art by SUZANNE MILLER "M ADE IN MONTANA" IS A LABEL THAT IS PROUDLY DISPLAYED ON ALL MANNER OF PRODUCTS THAT ORIGINATE IN THE STATE. However, I have recently come to understand that the label most appropriate for Montana's ceramics is "Made OF Montana". Fresh eyes showed me the difference. Montana provides far more than inspiration. CERAMICS MADE MONTANA of Watch an interview with artist Josh DeWeese of Bozeman www.distinctlymontana.com/artist184 DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL Julia Galloway, Sky Vault Julia Galloway Josh DeWeese digs for mudstone at Trail Creek. Josh DeWeese Dean Leeper RION SANDERS CHRIS BIENIEK

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