Courtney Murphy Ceramics

I first started working in clay while living in Brooklyn, NY. Wanting to get out of New York, and to pursue Ceramics more seriously, I moved to Portland to study at the Oregon College of Art & Craft. Since finishing school, I have been a Resident Artist at several programs including The Archie Bray Foundation, Red Lodge Clay Center, and The Clay Studio of Missoula, where I currently serve on  the Board of Directors. I've laid down roots in Missoula, but I continue to show work and teach workshops around the country. I'm currently working out of the Brunswick building with hopes to eventually build a home studio.

I was initially really drawn to the process of ceramics… It’s still amazing to me that you can start out with a lump of clay and transform it into really almost anything. There’s so much possibility and variety in what you can do that I feel like it’s a medium you could never really get bored of, even after a lifetime of work. I’m always inspired to try and get better, and to make better work. Small victories in the studio are still extremely satisfying.

I try my best to maintain a steady studio practice. Late spring through summer is generally a time for production, and traveling to shows. I enjoy the process of repetition, but when I'm working towards a deadline I feel like I have less time to try out new things. Towards the end of summer, and after the holiday season is when things slow down a bit and I have time to experiment with new forms and decorations. Sometimes I'll create little challenges for myself: make five new forms I haven't done before, or try a certain number of new decorations.