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Montana State University 
Bozeman 
THE ARCHIE BRAY FOUNDATION 
A CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE IN CLAY 
by 
Candace A. Bonawitz 
A professional paper submitted in partial fulfillment 
of the requirements for the degree 
of 
Master of Arts 
in 
Fine Art 
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY 
Bozeman, Montana 
May 1987 
APPROVAL 
of a thesis submitted by 
Candace A. Bonawitz 
This paper has been read by each member of the 
graduate committee and has been found to be satisfactory 
regarding content, English usage, format, citations, 
bibliographic style, and consistency, and is ready for 
submission to the College of Fine Arts. 
Date » 
Committee 
Chairperson, Graduate 
Approved for the Major Department/ 
Date u Head, Major Department 
STATEMENT OF PERMISSION TO USE 
In presenting this paper in partial fulfillment of the 
requirements for a master's degree at Montana State 
University, I agree that the Library shall make it available 
to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations 
from this paper are allowable without special permission, 
provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. 
Permission for extensive quotation from or 
reproduction of this paper may be granted by my major 
professor, or in his/her absence, by the Director of 
Libraries when, in the opinion of either, the proposed use 
of the material is for scholarly purposes. Any copying or 
use of the material in this paper for financial gain shall 
not be allowed without my written permission. 
Signature 
Date 
VITA 
Candace A. Bonawitz was born on March 23, 1946, in 
Billings, Montana, the daughter of Margaret E. and 
James R. Felt. She attended grade school and high 
school in Billings and began her college training at 
the University of Montana. Candace received her B.A. 
in Art in 1971 from Eastern Washington University, 
Cheney, Washington. She began teaching art in 
Billings, Montana, in 1976 and since that time has 
continued to take evening classes at Eastern Montana 
College in Billings and attend summer school sessions 
at Montana State University. She took a year's leave of 
absence during 1982 to work on her Masters Degree at 
Montana State University. Candace has been active in 
her professional teaching association, the Montana Art 
Education Association, and served as Vice-President in 
1981 and President during 1982. The summer of 1985 she 
received a fellowship from the National Endowment for 
the Humanities and spent six weeks studying Art History 
at the University of Pennsylvania. She is presently 
teaching art at Skyview High School in Billings, 
Montana. 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
I wish to express my gratitude to the following: 
Rudy Autio who taught me the basics of ceramics and, 
more importantly, got me excited about clay; Michael 
Peed, Harold Schlotzhauer, Richard Helzer and Rick Pope 
for their patience and encouragement as I began the 
Masters Program; Kurt Weiser and Christy Lasater for 
helping me with the research for this paper; Bernice 
Boone and Virginia Walton for their encouragement and 
help with research; and lastly, I thank my husband, 
Jack, for his support. 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
INTRODUCTION 
FORWARD 
CHAPTER 1 
ARCHIE BRAY SR. (1951-1953) 
The idea of the foundation is developed 
The foundation is formed 
The building is started 
CHAPTER 2 
PETER VOULKOS AND RUDY AUTIO (1951-1956) 
Getting the foundation started 
The tradition of visiting artists is started 
The tradition of workshops is begun 
The new addition 
CHAPTER 3 
JIM AND NAN MCKINNELL (1954-1957) 
The changes initiated at the Bray 
Special events that took place 
The specific problems faced and the solutions 
Jim and Nan leave in 1957 
CHAPTER 4 
GENE BUNKER (1957) 
A brief history 
A brief stay at the Bray 
CHAPTER 5 
KEN FERGUSON (1957-1964) 
The continuing changes at the Bray 
The special problems and the solutions 
CHAPTER 6 
DAVE SHANER (1964-1970) 
A brief history 
The financial pressures at the Bray 
The Small Business Administration Forecl 
The Bray is Purchased 
CHAPTER 7 
DAVE AND JUDY CORNELL (1970-1976) 
A brief history 
The Glass-Blowing Studio 
The Summer Sessions 
Plans for Expansion 
CHAPTER 8 
KURT WEISER AND CHRISTY LASATER (1976-present) 
Materials Manager is Hired 
The brickyard is purchased 
More Studio Space 
Plans to Expand 
CONCLUSION 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
INTRODUCTION 
I have worked as a potter since the fall of 1964 
when I began my studies at the University of Montana as 
an art major. Rudy Autio was my advisor, and he en­
rolled me in his ceramics class. Through his guidance 
I gained a comprehensive understanding of the materials 
and techniques required to make high-fire stoneware. 
The three years I spent at the University left me 
with a permanent love for clay. As Bernice Boone, an 
early advocate of the Archie Bray Foundation, stated, 
"Once the pottery bug bites, the victim wants to spend 
every spare minute at the wheel" (Boone 1960, pg. 20). 
I did not care if I was at the wheel; I just wanted to 
be working in the studio. Working with Rudy, who 
seldom used a wheel, I also learned to hand-build 
forms; and I liked how quickly I could build a pot. 
It was during this time that I first heard about 
the Archie Bray Foundation. Rudy would talk of it, and 
the department ordered some materials from there, but 
my chief exposure came from my mother. She spent the 
winter in Helena, while my father was a legislator, and 
took a class from Dave Shaner at the Bray. I was 
interested in the foundation, but being a young, naive 
student, I did not realize the importance of the Bray 
at that time. 
In 1970 while living in Spokane, Washington, I 
returned to college to finish my degree. I had 
completed all the required ceramics courses, but could 
not resist the urge and so enrolled in Bill Sage's 
ceramic class at Cheney, Washington. I was surprised 
to find out that the mention of being a student of 
Rudy's would cause the response I got from Bill Sage. 
He told me stories of shared times with Rudy and about 
visits to "The Bray." The experience of meeting 
ceramic artists, exchanging pleasantries and their 
discovering my connection to Montana ceramics 
eventually would lead to the question, "Well, have you 
been to the Archie Bray Foundation?" 
My sense of pride in being a potter from Montana 
has continued to grow as my involvement in ceramics has 
grown. The Archie Bray Foundation has influenced the 
arts and crafts development of Montana, but even more 
it has become synonymous with excellence in the world 
of ceramic art. Because of my sense of pride and also 
because of the important contribution the Bray has made 
for all who enjoy the ceramic arts, I am writing about 
the people who have made the Bray more than just 
another institution. 
FORWARD 
The Archie Bray Foundation is a myth. It has 
never existed as an institution with money to 
grant. . . . [it] has always been people, 
not money (Senska 1982, pg. 32). 
I have chosen to write about the Archie Bray 
Foundation by examining the people who have been di­
rectly involved with the creation and ongoing 
development of the Foundation. For the most part this 
will mean the past and present resident directors and 
those people who helped to manage the pottery. 
My purpose in focusing on the people involved is 
obvious: it is the dedication and foresight of all 
these people that has set the Archie Bray Foundation 
above and beyond the hundreds of functioning potteries 
around the country. The Bray has become a legend where 
one man's dream has given many aspiring potters the 
chance to concentrate on their work, to grow artisti­
cally, and to contribute to the growth of the Bray. 
The professional commitment of these ceramicists has 
been tremendous. The job of keeping the Bray func­
tional is almost sacred. The history of the Foundation 
is full of excitement, sadness, fulfillment, and 
dreams. There is much to learn from the people who 
have kept Archie Bray Sr.'s dream of a "nice place to 
work" a reality some 35 years later. 
CHAPTER 1 
ARCHIE BRAY, SR. 
Archie Bray, Sr. was born in 1886 in Helena, 
Montana. He attended school in Helena for his primary 
and secondary education, and then enrolled at Ohio 
State University where he received his undergraduate 
degree in ceramic engineering. He returned to Helena 
to help his father manage the brickyard shortly after 
graduating and within two years of his return to 
Helena, Bray was foreman of the brickyard. When his 
father died in 1931, Archie Bray, Sr. found himself not 
only the manager of a large business, but also, the 
president. Even though Bray spent his childhood 
surrounded by the business his interests went far 
beyond just running a brickyard. In fact, Archie Bray, 
Sr. had quite a battle with his parents on his choice 
of a career. Archie Bray, Jr. tells the story about 
his father, Archie Bray, Sr., wanting to be a doctor 
and his parents wanting him to study to be a ceramic 
engineer. Evidently the battle ended with Bray being 
forced to stand against a willow tree while his father 
used a buggy whip to remove his shirt! From that point 
on it was understood that Bray, Sr. would be a ceramic 
engineer. His son goes on to say that the only 
compromise in his father's life was taking piano 
lessons (Holt,"Archie Bray, Jr."). Apparently he 
learned to play the piano rather well and as an adult 
brought famous concert artists to Helena, helped 
sponsor the community theater group, and was president 
of the community concert group (Senska 1982, pg. 33). 
He was a true patron of the arts, but these activities 
were not enough for Archie; he had a dream in which he 
envisioned the pottery as the nucleus of an art center 
which he planned for the grounds of his brickyard. He 
wanted not only a pottery, but also a studio for all 
types of artists and a small theater for performing 
artists (Boone 1960, pg. 20). 
The actual planning of the Foundation began when 
two friends of Archie's paid him a visit at the 
brickyard. The guests were Peter Meloy and his brother 
Henry. They were both artists and wanted to talk to 
Bray about firing some pots in his large kilns. Bray 
then discussed his ideas with them. The dream started 
to develop during Archie Bray's future discussions, 
which included Branson Stevenson, a businessman and 
artist from Great Falls, and Peter Meloy, a lawyer and 
potter. The men discussed all the possibilities and 
problems that could occur. One such discussion is 
recorded in a letter written by Archie Bray, Sr. to 
Branson Stevenson in 1951. 
And so I say--Problems--Think about them, 
Branson, and when you come down let's have a 
real discussion about the whole picture. 
Somehow let's keep it all on the plane we 
dreamed--let's be practical too, let's keep 
it all in good fun--to roll along with the 
whole idea built around--'a place to work for 
all who are seriously interested in any of 
the ceramic arts.' To be high standards--to 
keep it nice--that it may always be a delight 
to turn to--to walk inside the pottery and 
leave outside somewhere--outside the big 
gate--uptown--anywhere--the cares of 
everyday. Each time we walk in the door to 
walk into a place of art--of simple things, 
not problems, good people all tuned to the 
right spirit of intention; the buildings; the 
carrying on and forwarding of intentions, the 
aims and the life of the foundation. 
Can we do it? 
What a joy it is to do it. 
Good Night, 
Archie (Weiser et. al.. Vol. 
VIII, pg.47) 
After all their planning they decided to start the 
project with a pottery in the corner of one of the 
drying sheds. Bray cleared some space under the line 
shaft, (a large shaft that stretched the length of the 
brickyard which was powered by a steam engine, and in 
turn powered most of the brickyard equipment) where 
there used to be a flower pot machine" (Holt, "Archie 
Bray, Jr."). For equipment, they started out with two 
electric kilns and some Denver kick wheels. They would 
fire a lot of their work in the large beehive kilns 
used by the brickyard to fire the bricks and tiles 
(Holt, "Rudy Autio"). 
"To handle the affairs of the pottery Mr. Bray 
formed a non-profit, educational corporation called the 
Archie Bray Foundation, the trustees of which were at 
that time Mr. Bray, Peter Meloy, and Branson Stevenson" 
(Boone 1960, pg. 20). The directors stated their 
purpose was "Making available for all who seriously 
interested in any of the branch of the Ceramic Arts, a 
fine place to work" (Weiser et. al.. Vol. VIII, pg. 
48) . 
To build the pottery Bray needed workers so during 
the summer of 1951 he hired two recent graduates from 
Montana State University, then known as Montana State 
College. The two were Rudy Autio and Peter Voulkos who 
were recommended to him by the Meloy brothers. They 
were hired to work in the brickyard during the day and, 
in turn, could use the new studio space for their 
pottery and sculpture at night. Rudy Autio states that 
cone 10 stoneware was becoming the "big thing" so they 
gladly helped Bray by laying brick, building one of the 
first downdraft kilns in North America, and organizing 
the supplies for the pottery (Holt, "Rudy Autio"). 
Many people besides Rudy Autio and Peter Voulkos 
were eager to share in Archie's dream. Bray supplied 
the money and all sorts of people supplied the labor. 
Among those who helped lay brick were Kelly Wong, (an 
undergraduate at Montana State College with Voulkos and 
Autio, who also worked at the brickyard), Jessie 
Wilber, Maxine Blackmer, Stevenson, and Meloy. 
In fact, so many amateurs laid brick for 
those walls, it's a wonder they remain 
standing. But the experts managed to 
compensate for the wavering rows, and the 
roof plate landed on a level course (Senska 
1982, pg. 33). 
Bray had been saving bricks that he thought were 
particularly beautiful so those bricks, along with some 
tiles made by Wilber and Stevenson were used on the 
front wall and form a rich mosaic pattern. One of the 
tiles was inscribed with the words often repeated by 
Archie, "Lots of brick to lay, Branson, lots of brick 
to lay" (Boone 1960, pg. 20). He continued the 
practice of saving tiles after the pottery got underway 
by having every celebrity sign a tile, it was then 
fired and placed in a collection (Holt, "Peter 
Voulkos"). 
Not all of the Bray family shared Bray's 
enthusiasm for the foundation. Branson Stevenson tells 
the story of an incident with Bray's mother. 
Archie's mother, she was the grand old lady, 
well, she wasn't too fond of the idea, Archie 
told me. She came out there one day when 
Archie was instructing me on how to lay tile 
on the stack and I was laying them up there. 
She said, "What are you doing young man?" I 
said, "I'm laying a tile up there where 
Archie told me to." About that time the 
brickyard opened and she said, "Ah, they're 
making brick, good." And she walked away 
with her cane (Holt, "Branson Stevenson"). 
As the pottery building was being constructed, 
plans were also being made for a celebration to 
dedicate the pottery coinciding with Bray's birthday. 
By October the first phase of the building was 
complete: it included a showroom, a workroom, a 
clay-mixing and kiln room, and the first gas-fired kiln 
in the state. 
A feast of champagne, oysters on the half 
shell, fine cheeses and other delicacies, 
served in a small brick building on the 
outskirts of Helena, October 20, 1951, marked 
the opening of "The Pottery" (Laurel Outlook 
1951, pg. 20). 
After the building was complete, it was decided by 
the board of directors to offer a membership for a fee 
of $10.00. This membership entitled the owner the 
privilege of the use of the pottery for life. Bernice 
Boone, a Helena resident about to retire from the 
Internal Revenue Service, was the first "card-carrying 
member". Boone had been fascinated by a pottery 
throwing demonstration at a Montana Institute of the 
Arts meeting given by Peter Voulkos and decided to 
check out what was happening at the foundation. She 
learned how to throw by taking lessons at the pottery 
and became one of the biggest supporters. She not only 
kept the place clean, but kept the books and records 
and gave financial help in the subsequent trying years 
(Senska 1982, pg. 33). 
CHAPTER 2 
PETER VOULKOS (1951-1954) AND RUDY AUTIO (1951-1957) 
Peter Voulkos and Rudy Autio are both native 
Montanans and two of the first students to study under 
Francis Senska, a pioneer in ceramic education, at what 
was then Montana State College in Bozeman, Montana. 
Autio states that Frances had an excellent background. 
She had worked with Mia Grotell at Cranbrook and with 
Marguerite Wildenhain at Pond Farm and was very 
knowledgeable about clay. Senska says that "Voulkos 
was notable for not being in class. He would come back 
with a sack of clay and say he'd been prospecting, but 
I knew he'd been fishing" (Senska 1982, pg. 41). 
Peter's first choice of a career was architecture. He 
then tried painting and sculpture, and he mentions that 
he only took the ceramics class because it was 
required. "I didn't want to play around in any 
mud--but as soon as I did I just fell in love with it 
and that was it--I got started" (Holt, "Peter 
Voulkos"). Voulkos says his father and mother were 
puzzled as to why anyone should leave a "profitable, 
established family enterprise" [his parents owned a 
restaurant in Bozeman] for something as uncertain as a 
career in the arts (Seattle Times 1954, pg. 11). After 
finishing his undergraduate work at Montana State 
College and just beginning to work with clay, he 
attended the California College of Arts and Crafts, 
Oakland, California. He wanted to get more experience 
with clay and learn how to use a gas-fired kiln, since 
there were only small electric kilns at Montana State 
College while he was there. He got into trouble with 
the staff and students during his stay at California. 
They accused him of using all the clay and "hogging" 
the kilns. The situation became so serious the 
president of the college paid him a visit and asked him 
to lower his firing temperature, make smaller forms and 
generally put "ridiculous" limitations on him. 
Luckily, he was about to graduate so the situation was 
quickly resolved (Holt, "Peter Voulkos"). 
Rudy Autio, the son of a Finnish miner, says that 
his family had a strong crafts tradition and, 
therefore, did not question his desire to be an artist. 
He did his graduate work at Washington State 
University, Pullman, Washington, with Harriet 
Middleton. Autio feels that he is strongly influenced 
by the painting of Pollock and DeKooning, sculptures of 
Morini and Naguchi, and Toltec-Aztec pottery. 
His early work was generally large architectural murals 
carved into leatherhard brick. Autio states, "The 
figurative element has always been a part of my work. 
I have never felt totally comfortable with sheer 
abstraction—the image remains most important to me" 
(Autio Vol. VIII, pg.38). 
It was a real treat for Autio and Voulkos to have 
all the clay they wanted, the freedom to work all 
night, and no one complaining about what they wanted to 
make. Autio and Voulkos approached their work 
differently. Voulkos has been described as flamboyant, 
while Autio was quiet and took his time on each project 
(Holt, "Archie Bray, Jr."). Voulkos basically threw on 
the wheel at this time, sticking to more classical 
forms, while Autio was making plaques and sculptural 
forms for buildings. Voulkos once said to Rudy, "You'd 
make a ceramic hamburger if there was enough money in 
it." Autio adds, "Of course ten years later people 
were--It's kinda funny" (Holt, "Rudy Autio"). 
After that first summer in the brickyard, both men 
returned to their respective graduate schools to finish 
up their masters degrees. Voulkos recommended that Mr. 
Bray hire Lillian Boshcen to manage the pottery while 
he was finishing school. Voulkos had worked with her 
during his first year at graduate school, so the 
First of the competent instructors at the 
center is Miss Lillian Boshcen, a native of 
North Carolina, who has received her Master's 
degree in ceramics and who has exhibited at 
some of the most outstanding invitational and 
national shows. She has studied at the 
California College of Arts and Crafts, Mills 
College, and San Francisco School of Fine 
Arts (Lindley 1977, pg. 70). 
Bernice Boone states that when Boshcen arrived at 
the Bray she brought her Siamese cat and a good kick 
wheel. Both the cat and the kick wheel were welcome 
additions and several more kick wheels were built like 
the one she had brought. Boshcen worked very hard at 
getting the pottery ready for the opening and 
subsequent classes. "She spent days and nights 
painting the interior, cleaning windows and otherwise 
making the place attractive for visitors" (Boone 1960, 
pg- 21). 
Apparently Boshcen was a hardworker but she had a 
hard time getting along with Archie. Voulkos describes 
him as being "very macho" and looking like a "gruff old 
guy" until one got to know him. Evidently Bray could 
not tolerate a woman with her own ideas about how to 
run the pottery; and the situation became so 
intolerable that she left (Holt, "Peter Voulkos"). 
In the Spring of 1952 the operation moved 
into high gear. Voulkos returned with his 
wife Peggy Gone, a potter and enamelist. At 
first their bed was a mattress on the kiln 
room floor and they ate in the mess hall, but 
soon the hen house in back of the pottery was 
turned into a home for them. Autio and his 
wife Lela, a painter and their small son 
returned and found a little house in the 
neighborhood. Archie paid them a modest 
salary, but the proceeds from the sale of 
their work went to the foundation (Senska 
1982, pg. 33). 
During this time Autio began to work on large 
architectural murals. He would take big blocks of clay 
and set them up on an easel and then cut out the relief 
areas. After the sections had dried they were glazed 
and then fired in the beehive kilns. Bray was very 
proud of Autio and wanted to help him all he could, so 
he would try to get Autio an architectural commission 
when he sold brick to the contractors in Montana. 
Autio describes the situation: "Bray would tell 
architects and contractors, 'If you buy my brick I have 
a nice kid here who will make a nice plaque for your 
wall'" (Holt, "Rudy Autio"). 
As employees of the Western Clay Manufacturing 
Plant, Autio and Voulkos would help Bray in the 
brickyard along with the time spent making works of 
art. One task was helping Bray fire the beehive kilns. 
They didn't use pyrometric cones to decide when to salt 
the kilns; instead, they would measure the shrinkage of 
the clay bricks with a metal rod. The mass had to 
shrink six to seven inches. To take the measurement, 
Autio or Voulkos would have to walk on top of the huge 
kilns that were 1800-2000 degrees, or "red hot" inside. 
It was very dangerous work. Bray would finally decide 
when to salt the kiln by eyeing the atmosphere inside 
the kilns. Then Voulkos and Autio would go around the 
kilns and shovel in loads of salt and zinc. Autio 
states that they were working "eight days every week" 
(Holt, "Rudy Autio"). 
They began to make a line of work consisting of 
planters, ashtrays, small bowls, and teapots fired to 
stoneware temperatures. They wanted to make the 
pottery self-sufficient, so they made production work 
during the day and their own work at night. They had 
agents in several states, such as Texas and other 
states in the South East. The agents had a set of 
samples, and from these they would take orders and send 
them to the Foundation. Voulkos and Autio would make 
the work and then "go downtown and hunt the alleys of 
Helena for boxes and then go out in the fields and get 
a bunch of straw and pack them and send them out" 
(Holt, "Peter Voulkos"). This did not always work out 
as planned. Autio states that, "It was a losing 
proposition for the most part, but that was when we 
were first getting started. Archie Sr. picked up the 
bill, of course" (Holt, "Rudy Autio"). 
One painful financial lesson was described by 
Rudy. 
We made fifty to sixty molds for planters. 
We used a jigger and sloppy clay, and it 
shaped the planter. We sold a lot of those, 
but we went broke on it because our principal 
dealer never paid us. We kept shipping the 
stuff all over the country at our expense, 
and he never paid his bills. So we were 
stuck with 1500-2000 of these things. Having 
done that for awhile really turned us off 
from the commercial aspect of running a 
pottery (Holt, "Rudy Autio"). 
The clay that Bray provided for Autio and Voulkos 
to use was the same clay that they dug for the 
brickyard. This clay was a local blue clay dug from 
the pits at Blossburg. Autio believes that the clay 
caused him many problems with his tiles and murals. It 
was too plastic (it did not hold its shape) and cracked 
very easily. The concentration of clay in the mixture 
was great for bricks, but not for art work (Holt, "Rudy 
Autio"). After much discussion with Bray it was 
decided to change to Kentucky ball clay and Denver fire 
clay. These refined materials had a higher ratio of 
fire clay and were less plastic than the local clay; 
therefore, the material could stand the high-fire 
temperatures necessary for good stoneware. 
With an excellent potter and an equally 
excellent sculptor in charge, the pottery 
during 1952 was a beehive of activity. 
Pete's pots soon won him wide acclaim. He 
captured most of the prizes at the big 
ceramic shows, and all this brought much 
favorable publicity to the Foundation 
throughout the United States and Canada 
(Boone 1960, pg.21). 
Voulkos' achievements made Bray very happy. He 
introduced Voulkos to a group of Rotarians as "one of 
the top pottery men in America today," and "the only 
man who has won first place awards with his pottery two 
successive years at the international exhibitions in 
Syracuse, New York" (The Independent Record 1952, pg. 
4) -
That fall Bray started to bring the visiting 
performers he had brought to Helena out to see the 
pottery in the midst of his brickyard. The Helena 
paper headed an article about this event with the 
title, "Marina Sveltova 'Tosses a Pot' at Bray 
Foundation as Do Other Members of Ballet Cast." The 
article reports, 
She broke into gales of laughter as the pot 
took on a lopsided appearance under her 
fingers. When she was given a lump of clay 
to experiment with herself, it first 
resembled a dish, then a bowl, then an 
inside-out sombrero. When everyone roared at 
her efforts, she turned to Voulkos and 
quipped, "I bet you've never made a pot that 
looked like that!" He admitted he hadn't 
(The Independent Record 1952, pg. 5). (There 
is a picture of this scene in the 1980 issue 
of the Studio Potter. Vol. VIII). 
Having celebrities visit the pottery was widely 
publicized and so the notoriety of the foundation 
started to grow. When Branson Stevenson heard that 
Bernard Leach, a famous English potter, was touring the 
United States with two equally famous Japanese potters, 
Shoji Hamada and Soetsu Yanagi, he decided to invite 
them to visit the Archie Bray Foundation. With this 
prestigious group the program of workshops conducted by 
famous artists was begun. "Leach's feisty opinions, 
Hamada5s control of his clay and brushes, Yanagi's 
philosophy of the relationship of the craftsman to his 
work were all inspiring to potters who hadn't given 
much thought to why they were doing what they were 
doing" (Senska 1982, pg. 33). 
Both Autio and Voulkos have stated that the 
week-long workshop held by Hamada, Leach and Yanagi, in 
December of 1952, was the major event that influenced 
their work. Autio also states that the workshop "set 
the tone and direction" of the foundation for the years 
to come. He felt that Hamada really "opened their 
eyes" with the freedom and ease he used to handle the 
clay. Their direction before had been more "machine 
like." The pots were thrown symmetrically and then 
trimmed with precision. Now they were seeing a "master 
potter" throw with a looseness never seen before. The 
visitors gave lectures on Zen and the idea of 
"thusness" or letting things happen. This began to 
make sense as they watched Hamada throw "off the hump," 
a process of making several vessels out of one large 
mound of clay. They had never seen this done before 
(Holt, "Rudy Autio"). Voulkos talks about his 
experience with the workshop: 
[Hamada] would sit on top of the kick wheel, 
and I would kick the wheel for him. He never 
kicked the wheel, he was used to a Japanese 
girl turning the wheel by hand. But he would 
tell me to kick faster or slower, so I just 
watched his hands, and it was a great 
experience. I mean it was unique. I doubt 
anyone else had that experience. . . . He 
had these small Buddha sort of hands--fat 
fingers--you know: the slip coming through 
his fingers, the facility he had, and tools. 
He had typical Japanese tools, sticks and 
small sponges, and chamois. Things were 
small, eight to ten inches, but I especially 
liked when he would decorate with his brushes 
using slips right onto the greenware. And 
I'd never seen it before. . . . They were 
quite free, [the pots] not too distorted, but 
you could tell they were right off the wheel 
(Holt, "Peter Voulkos"). 
Many ceramic artists have come to Helena to work 
at the Bray as resident potters. Some stay for just a 
few days while others spend a summer, or even a few 
years working at the foundation. The first recorded 
residents were Manuel Neri, George McCullough and Doris 
Strachan. 
The men were given beds in the bunkhouse and 
ate in the mess hall. They had all the space 
and clay they needed, but they also nipped 
brick, mixed clay, cut weeds and drove 
trucks. Doris lived at home in Helena. She 
mixed glazes, poured molds and swept floors 
in return for access to the clay and the 
excitement of the place. Archie was 
generous, but he also was a canny businessman 
(Senska 1982, pg. 33). 
Several other well-known potters spent time at the 
Bray during the early years, such as Carlton Ball, 
Robert Sperry, Paul Volchening, Dean and Gib Strawn, 
and Ernie Kim. A woman named Muriel Guest from 
Winnipeg, Canada, hitch-hiked down to Helena in the 
winter of 1952 to work at the foundation. She came as 
a student and ended up being "a big help" to Autio 
after Voulkos left in 1954 (Holt, "Rudy Autio"). 
In January of 1953, Bray was injured in an 
accident in the brickyard. No one seemed to realize 
how serious the injury was, and all were shocked when 
they heard of his death on February 17. There was some 
question as to what would happen to the foundation, but 
the Bray family quickly reassured Autio and Voulkos 
that the family, especially his mother and sister, was 
determined to keep his dream alive (Boone 1960, pg. 
2 2 ) .  
"Prior to the death of Mr. Bray a large addition 
to the pottery had been started but, because of his 
death, it had not been completed. Work was resumed on 
this and it was completed as a memorial to Mr. Bray by 
his wife" (Boone 1960, pg. 22). The addition had been 
planned as a studio for Rudy's large sculptural pieces. 
The second workshop held at the Bray coincided 
with the opening of Rudy's new studio. In May of 1954 
Margaret Wildenhain put on a very successful workshop 
attended by potters from as far away as Seattle and 
British Columbia. 
Mrs. Wildenhain, recognized as one of the 
world's great potters, was born in Lyon, 
France, and received her training at the 
Bauhaus in Weimer, Germany. She came to the 
United States in 1940, and after two years of 
teaching in Oakland at the California College 
of Arts and Crafts, she has lived and has her 
workshop near Grurneville, California (Great 
Falls Tribune 1954, pg. 12). 
After Bray died there was no more talk about a 
large center for the arts. The pottery "was doing all 
right" but the times were tough. In the fall of 1954 
Voulkos was invited to head up a new ceramics 
department at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles, so 
he left the Bray. With his leaving the foundation 
lost their primary production potter. There were also 
problems within the brickyard. "Archie Bray Jr.'s lack 
of experience in the business led to problems with clay 
quality and disasters in drying and firing. With help 
from the Small Business Administration, he invested in 
a tunnel kiln, which was not economically sound in a 
area where brick was becoming less popular. The threat 
of bankruptcy chilled the brickyard" (Senska 1982, pg. 
34). (Due, in part, to an earthquake that had caused 
considerable damage to several brick homes and 
buildings in the Helena area (Holt, "Rudy Autio"). 
CHAPTER 3 
JIM AND NAN McKINNELL 1954-1957 
James and Nan McKinnell, who had attended the 
Wildenhain workshop, decided that the foun­
dation was, indeed, "a fine place to work"and 
stayed three years, until 1957. As free­
lance potters, they sold their work indepen­
dently. [They chose not to work on the same 
basis as the director, but sold their work 
through the Bray and paid a percentage of the 
sales to the Bray.] They were then hired as 
teachers by the foundation. . . . [T]heir 
hard work, along with that of the Autios and 
whatever support Archie, Jr. could provide, 
kept the pottery going, even though the 
brickyard was slipping financially (Senska 
1982, pg. 34). 
By the time the McKinnells reached the Bray they 
were well-trained, proficient potters. Nan started her 
training in clay at the University of Washington and 
ended up with her MFA in Ceramics in 1948. Jim 
received his Masters Degree in Ceramic Engineering at 
the University of Washington but remarked to Martin 
Holt that he got introduced to clay in West Virginia 
(Holt, "Jim and Nan McKinnell"). 
After finishing their schooling, they were 
married; and Nan joined Jim in Baltimore where he was 
employed. Using their savings and some money Jim had 
coming from the G.I. Bill, they soon left for two years 
traveling and studying in Europe. They spent time in 
Paris at the Ecole Metiers d' Art. This school did not 
encourage female students, so they found a man who 
would teach them the basics of using the potters wheel 
(such as tapping on center, throwing and trimming) for 
$1.00 a lesson for the two of them. At this time they 
were using low fire earthenware clay (Holt, "Jim and 
Nan McKinnell"). 
After several months in France, they left for 
Cornwall, England, to work with Michael Leach, the son 
of Bernard Leach. They spent three months learning 
about production throwing of once-fired redware or 
slipware (Holt, "Jim and Nan McKinnell"). 
The next stop was Scotland, working with Katie 
Horsman. She taught them about high-temperature salt 
firing (Holt, "Jim and Nan McKinnell"). 
After sixteen months of studying and touring, Nan 
and Jim returned to the United States and settled in 
Boulder, Colorado. Jim had a job teaching extension 
classes at the University. They kept very busy making 
cone 04 earthenware, building kilns, and testing 
glazes. The pay, however, just was not enough to make 
ends meet, especially since they were expecting their 
first child. Therefore Jim applied for a job working 
for a geological surveyor and was hired (Holt, "Jim and 
Nan McKinnell"). 
After the birth of their daughter, they packed up 
and started traveling from Wyoming to Texas building 
kilns with loose bricks they could pack with them 
(commonly called loose-brick kilns because the bricks 
were not permanently attached together) and testing 
local clays every time they would stop (Holt, "Jim and 
Nan McKinnell"). 
After an accident that resulted in a hernia for 
Jim, it was decided that they would quit the surveyor's 
job and return to Seattle and work for Boeing. It was 
at this time that they heard about the Archie Bray 
Foundation from Peggy Voulkos, a former student of 
Nan's. Voulkos and his wife Peggy were visiting in 
Seattle and told them about the Bray and the upcoming 
workshop with Marguerite Wildenhain (Holt, "Jim and Nan 
McKinnell"). 
Nan and Jim say that the time they spent in 
Montana was remarkable. Voulkos gave a mini-workshop 
before the Wildenhain workshop started. People were 
very interested to see what Voulkos could do, because 
he was reputed to be the best "thrower" in the United 
States. His work at this time was described as 
"strong, direct, and large" (Holt, "Jim and Nan 
McKinnell"). 
They go on to describe the Wildenhain workshop by 
saying that she also was very direct in her approach to 
working with the clay. She showed up for the workshop 
with six tools in her back pocket and part of her new 
book. Jim described an interesting incident that 
occured when Marguerite was reading from the first 
chapter to the participants. Archie Bray, Sr.'s mother 
was attending the workshop and, after Wildenhain had 
been reading for some time, the elderly Mrs. Bray, with 
a loud booming voice inquired, "When is she going to 
stop?" Apparently Margaurite took off her glasses, 
looked all around the room, and then continued reading 
(Holt, "Jim and Nan McKinnell"). 
There were around 42 participants in the workshop, 
and they all spent time throwing; then Wildenhain would 
critique the work with a "no holds barred" attitude. 
She was described by the McKinnells as being very 
strong-minded and direct. Nan and Jim stayed three 
weeks and decided to make a move to Montana to take 
advantage of the fine facilities at the Foundation 
(Holt, "Jim and Nan McKinnell"). 
The McKinnells describe the last three months of 
Pete's work at the foundation as "interesting and 
lively". Voulkos wanted to make as much work as 
possible to help the finances of the Bray before he 
left. They needed to start making the pottery carry 
its own weight financially. He would work at night, 
and in the morning, when people came for their classes, 
the wheels were covered with "large immovable pots" 
(Holt, "Jim and Nan McKinnell"). 
When asked about their own work at that time, Nan 
said they were learning about stoneware that summer. 
They felt the Bray was very stimulating because of 
Pete's influence, the large working space, and all the 
people coming and going. Even the climate influenced 
the drying and helped them set up a routine for 
working. Jim also commented on how much he enjoyed 
taking some education classes at Carroll College. He 
felt the humanities courses were some of the best he 
had ever taken (Holt, "Jim and Nan McKinnell"). 
The McKinnells found that the Archie Bray Foun­
dation offered them a variety of opportunities. . . . 
[T]he Archie Bray was a transition between one way of 
life and another, a chance to try a new mode without 
committing a great deal of capital. . ." (Senska 1982, 
pg. 34). The foundation was willing to let the 
McKinnells free-lance. 
[They] taught the classes, at the same time 
producing pottery on their own for sale. 
They made fine functional stoneware, 
skillfully decorated, which found ready sale 
and they soon had difficulty in keeping up 
with their orders. Jim, who is a ceramic 
engineer, found time to test clays for the 
brickyard, a service that the pottery had not 
previously been able to offer (Boone 1960, 
Pg. 23). 
When asked what made the Archie Bray Foundation a 
significant pottery in the 1950's, Jim McKinnell 
answered that there were very few potters, outside of 
Voulkos, working on the wheel throwing high-fire 
stoneware at that time. Nan and Jim both mentioned 
that many women would come over from Seattle every 
year, bringing with them their "bottles of 
effervescences" and entertain Voulkos when they could. 
Pete, in return would make sure the ladies were 
properly received. These people wanted to see what was 
going on with his work and at the Bray. Besides all 
the creative activity and the lively atmosphere, the 
Bray was one of the few places in the region that had 
several wheels. Jim felt they had the best looking 
stoneware body in the area plus Voulkos had an 
intuitive way of getting good results from the kiln. 
Voulkos did all the firing. He would stack his pots 
where he wanted them and then fill in around with other 
people's work. He would then fire the kiln--basically 
from his head--to get the results he wanted. When he 
left, no one really knew how to fire the kiln 
successfully (Holt, "Nan and Jim McKinnell"). 
During the summer of 1955 Voulkos returned to the 
Bray just to do his personal work. Voulkos wanted the 
glazes the students and other potters were using to be 
different from his, so they spent about 1000 hours just 
testing glazes. Carlton Ball was also there that 
summer working under a Fulbright grant. He was busy 
testing glazes and throwing pots and generally helping 
the students (Boone 1960, pg. 23). 
Nan and Jim invited their former teacher, Katie 
Horsman, to travel to Montana and present a workshop at 
the Foundation. 
Early in September of 1955 another workshop 
was held, the chief instructor this time 
being Katie Horsman, a potter from Edinburgh, 
Scotland, who had been teaching at a summer 
session at the University of Colorado. The 
McKinnells had studied under her while in 
Europe and were instrumental in arranging for 
her visit there. She talked about how 
running a pottery was handled in England and 
Scotland. She also did some throwing and 
distorted the pots. Pete, Autio and the 
McKinnells also assisted at this workshop, 
which was well attended (Boone 1960, pg. 23). 
During the second summer the McKinnells were at 
the Bray, they were also scheduled to teach a summer 
school session on Fiadalgo Island at Ruth Pennington 
Summer School of Art. 
We started building loose-brick experimental 
kilns in one of the back rooms. We tried a 
three chamber, settled on a two chamber. We 
carried the bricks in the back of our red 
truck and set up the kiln and the whole 
studio at Quaker Cove, taught a number of 
weeks, and packed it all up again and brought 
it all back to Montana. It was probably the 
first loose-brick double chamber kiln ever 
built. We increased the size the next year, 
and it fired even better. To fire the kiln 
we used propane weed-burners, flexible rubber 
hoses, 100 pound tanks of propane, and it 
worked fine (Holt, "Nan McKinnell"). 
The activities continued along the same lines as 
before during 1955 and 1956. Jim was doing research 
for the brickyard because the quality of the clay at 
the pits was deteriorating, and he tried to find some 
solutions. Jim felt that Archie Bray, Jr. basically 
ignored his suggestions. Doris Strachan was working on 
her Masters degree under the supervision of the 
University of Montana. She was developing the use of 
natural clays as glazes, and the McKinnells continued 
to teach classes (Boone 1960, pg. 23 and Holt, "Nan and 
Jim McKinnell"). 
In August of 1956 another well-attended 
workshop was held. The instructor this time 
was Antonio Prieto, head of the Ceramics 
Department at Mills College, Oakland, 
California. Mr. Prieto proved to be an 
excellent instructor and provided for those 
attending a very interesting and entertaining 
three days (Boone 1960, pg. 24). 
In 1957 the McKinnells left Helena to set up a 
pottery in Deerfield, Massachusetts. They are 
presently working in the Ceramics Department at Loretta 
Heights College in Denver, Colorado (Holt, "Jim 
McKinnell"). 
CHAPTER 4 
EUGENE BUNKER (1956-1957) 
Eugene Bunker, a former student from Montana State 
College, became the resident potter after Autio left. 
"Gene had previously spent some time at the Foundation 
experimenting with glazes and assisting Voulkos and 
Autio in the work of the pottery. After leaving there 
he had attended Mills College where he had secured his 
Masters Degree in Fine Arts" (Boone 1960, pg. 25). 
Bunker's work was greatly influenced at the time by 
Voulkos' work. After Voulkos would make several forms, 
Bunker would come in, take a good look, and then try to 
make basically the same piece. "He did use a lot of 
porcelain clay which Voulkos seldom used, so there were 
obvious differences, too" (Holt, "Jim McKinnell"). 
"Gene was an excellent potter and continued the 
operation of the pottery much along the same lines as 
had previous managers" (Boone 1960, pg.25). He stayed 
at the pottery for about one year, and then personal 
problems and illness forced Bunker to be away from the 
pottery for some time. 
During his absence volunteers attempted to 
carry on the classes and to otherwise look 
after the affairs of the pottery. This was a 
period of uncertainty and from this set-back 
recovery was slow. When Gene was able to 
return he soon resigned, and again we were 
without a manager (Boone 1960, pg. 25). 
At about this time Jim McKinnell was traveling 
across the country and he stopped in at Alfred 
University and met Ken Ferguson. McKinnell was very 
impressed with Ferguson so he urged Archie Bray, Jr. to 
hire Ferguson to replace the vacancy left by Bunker and 
to take charge of the pottery (Holt, "Jim McKinnell"). 
CHAPTER 5 
KEN FERGUSON (1958-1964) 
Ken Ferguson, born in Elwood, Indiana, studied Art at 
Carnegie Tech from 1948 to 1952. When he left, he had a job 
as a stained-glass window designer. Before he could get 
started, he was drafted and ended up in Japan. When he 
returned in 1954, he still had the same job offer and 
quickly decided that "stained glass was not for me." He was 
in a real dilemma as to what to do; he decided to go back to 
school to become a teacher. He ended up taking the required 
crafts course. He chose clay because he liked the 
instructor, Wesley Mills, and soon discovered that, "Boy, 
this is for me." He taught in the public schools for a year 
and decided he just could not take it--he did not have the 
temperament for it. His instructor, Mills, said, "Go to 
Alfred!" (Holt, "Ken Ferguson"). 
Ferguson packed up with his wife Gertrude, their small 
son, and a note from Wesley Mills to Charlie Harder at 
Alfred University. With only the note as an introduction, 
he was accepted at Alfred. He worked with Harder, Val 
Cushing, Ted Randell, and John Wood, a film-maker. Just as 
he was finished with his graduate program, he heard about 
the job at the Archie Bray Foundation from Jim McKinnell. 
He described his decision to go to the Bray by saying 
Jim McKinnell set me up with Archie Bray Jr. 
For some reason he thought I was suited to 
come to Archie Bray. God, I just didn't even 
doubt for a minute that I should try it. I 
didn't ask about money--anything. I'd heard 
that Voulkos had been there, and Autio, so I 
figured this was good enough for me. I ought 
to try that (Holt, "Ken Ferguson"). 
Apparently the grounds and resident director's 
house were poorly maintained when the Fergusons 
arriv'11''ed. Ferguson commented that they "refused to 
live in the place" until it was cleaned. He and his 
family lived in a backroom of the pottery. Meanwhile, 
Archie, Jr. sent some men over from the brickyard to 
clean the house and make some improvements. While the 
house was being cleaned, Ferguson attacked the weeds 
and generally cleaned the area around the pottery. 
Ferguson felt that their refusal to live in the house 
and their work on the grounds had impressed Bray, and 
helped establish a good working relationship between 
the two men. 
Ferguson did a lot of work for Archie Bray, Jr. 
He was having trouble keeping a manager in the 
brickyard, so Ferguson tried to help him by testing 
clay. 
I'd get clay in the morning, put it in a dry 
pan, crush it up, make a test bar and dry it 
as fast as I could. With a infra-red light 
I'd put it in a glow-bar kiln, fire as fast 
as I could and check to see the shrinkage, 
color, and how much barium it took to get rid 
of the scum. So it was simple. I took an 
interest in the brickyard—learned a lot--I 
played a balancing act--walked on 
egg-shells--get along with Archie--make 
pots--get along with people--back and forth 
(Holt, "Ken Ferguson"). 
Because Ferguson was not a native Montanan, as had 
been previous directors, he felt he was not accepted 
immediately by the people of Helena. Ferguson also 
felt pressure from Archie, Jr. to make the pottery pay. 
"I was the first guy from out of the state. You know, 
it had been Rudy and Pete. McKinnells were free-lance 
potters here, and I was the first guy. And Archie sort 
of let the word out--if this guy doesn't make it, I'm 
really going to close the place up and make it a 
machine shop" (Holt, "Ken Ferguson"). Ferguson stated 
that it wasn't costing Archie much to support the 
pottery; about $300. a month in salary, free room, and 
free gas. Their living quarters were very sparse, a 
remodeled chicken coop, which was later enlarged by one 
room. At about that time the financial problems of the 
brickyard became critical. 
"[Archie] hired a brick engineer; but he hired him 
too late, debts were too high, clay was poor, the 
quality of the brick was poor, and the bricks just were 
not coming out fast enough." Archie Jr. decided to 
abandon the business in 1960. This meant, after less 
than two years, Ferguson was left with a struggling 
pottery, and a brickyard that was essentially closed 
(Holt, "Ken Ferguson"). 
Ferguson felt, financial problems aside, there 
were several positive things happening to him while he 
adjusted to his new position. 
The first summer I went over to Missoula and 
met Pete and Rudy. They were a tough act to 
follow and at the time I didn't understand 
anything about clay. I really learned here. 
I was thirty years old, married with one 
small child. I was also an 'Easterner' 
trying to fill Autio's and Voulkos's shoes. 
Their presence was still felt, and I was as 
much in awe of them as were the members. I 
had first to learn how to get along with the 
people at the Foundation and how to manage 
the shop. And you know, Rudy was the saint 
and Pete the hero. . . . [Y]ou couldn't do 
anything without the locals standing and 
watching and saying, "Well, Pete didn't do it 
that way; try it Pete's way." I don't know 
why, but it didn't bother me that much at the 
time. Then I met Pete, and he treated me 
real nice and Rudy was so nice--how could you 
not like him! So I heard all the stories 
about Pete; the McKinnell's problems getting 
along with Archie. . . I just listened. My 
background helped me to balance getting along 
with all the different types of people at the 
Foundation. The stories about the place are 
good, some of them are funny, some of them 
give you a lot of insight into the place 
(Holt, "Ken Ferguson"). 
While Ferguson was gaining a better understanding 
of what his position was at the pottery the problems at 
the brickyard culminated and it became clear that the 
brickyard would fold. 
Now the pottery had to break even; there was 
no one to pick up a deficit. Ferguson was 
big and strong, a potter whose talent and 
reputation were steadily growing. With 
Gertrude's help he put the pottery on a 
paying basis, though the bank balance was 
down to $50.00 at one point (Senska 1982, pg. 
34). 
Archie Bray, Jr. wanted to keep his father's dream 
alive; so before he left, he tried to separate the 
Foundation from the brickyard. Everyone had thought 
this had been done when the Foundation was formed, but 
they discovered that there were no papers that divided 
the two enterprises into separate entities. The 
pottery began to pay the brickyard a $75. per month fee 
for gas and electricity, hoping to establish that the 
pottery was not a part of the brickyard. They were 
soon told that this would not hold up in court (Holt, 
"Ken Ferguson"). 
After the foreclosure by the Small Business 
Administration, the brickyard was silent and 
sad and the night watchman carried a gun. 
Ironically, the only life left on the 
property was in the sturdy pottery that 
people had originally thought of as Archie's 
folly (Senska 1982, pg. 34). 
When asked about how working at the Archie Bray 
Foundation affected his work, Ferguson replied, "I 
became aware of my limitations and soon developed a 
rhythm of throwing, working and making functional pots. 
I had thoughts only of being a potter, not an artist" 
(Weiser et. al. Vol. VIII, pg. 51). Of his work 
Ferguson said, 
The simplest statement that I can make about 
my pottery and why it is like it is would be 
that I consider myself an industrial designer 
fortunate enough to be able to complete my 
own designs. This pottery has taken the 
direction that form follows function which is 
by no means original, but it has been easy to 
live and work by, especially when my duties 
as resident potter at the Archie Bray 
Foundation have forced me to divide my time 
between pots, teaching, and selling pottery 
supplies. Therefore, intellectualizing about 
my pottery has been a luxury I could ill 
afford. I have tried to be honest and 
sincere, no frills, no pretense at being an 
artist, only a working potter (The 
Independent Record 1964, pg.5) 
And work he did. He says he often trimmed pots at 
night and worked six days a week managing the pottery 
and teaching classes. While Ferguson was director, the 
class size grew, and the students were "enthusiastic" 
and made good pottery. He worked hard to increase the 
production pottery sold through the Foundation, and 
there was more expansion of the facility and services 
at this time. A room was added to Ferguson's house; a 
sink was installed in the glaze room; a copper 
enameling space was provided; a new kiln was built; and 
through a loan by Bernice Boone for a large shipment of 
clay, the materials business was started (Boone 1960, 
pg- 25). 
There were very few workshops held while Ferguson 
was resident potter. He felt "his most positive 
achievement during those lean years was trying to keep 
the doors open" (Weiser et. al. Vol. VIII, pg. 51). 
However, one workshop was recorded in a Helena paper 
with the headline, "Famed Woman Potter Has One-Day 
Workshop Here". The famous woman was Toshiko Takaezu, 
an instructor at the Cleveland Art Institute. The 
article showed a picture of Toshiko creating 
"monumental hand-built pottery." She made a series of 
dome-like pots on the wheel and later stacked and bound 
them with wet clay (Henry 1963, pg. 21). Bernice Boone 
stated that the workshop did actually last more than 
one day. She knew this because Toshiko stayed at her 
home for several days, while the workshop continued, 
the exact number of days she could not recall (Boone 
1987). 
Ferguson and his wife Gertrude were beginning to 
feel isolated and frustrated by all the problems. They 
were looking to their future and realized it was time 
to start planning a move. Ferguson invited David 
Shaner and his wife Ann to join them "making pots and 
fighting the bureaucracy". When Ferguson left with his 
family to teach at the Kansas City Art Institute in 
1964, Dave became the new director (Senska 1982, pg. 
34). 
When asked to explain why he thought the Bray was 
so successful Ferguson responded, 
We [board members] try to understand why this 
place does better than so many other places 
that tried to copy it with the same ideas. 
We decided that the beauty of the place is 
that it's a good place for a few people to 
work; it's not that big. . . .[I]f you have 
a good potter here, his ego has to be 
strong. . . . [H]e is trying to do his 
number, and if he's not worried about his job 
but he feels secure, he'll allow and attract 
good people to work with him. But not too 
many. You select them and have them work for 
two months, six months, one to two years, 
whatever. That's the clue, it's like a 
half-way house, not a teaching institution, 
not like a undergrad, and not like a graduate 
program. It's like a halfway house for 
somebody. . . .[The residents] have something 
going, and they just need a little help, a 
little time to light someplace for awhile and 
get involved with a sort of intense 
concentration of good pottery for awhile--or 
whatever. That's probably why it's so 
successful. I've seen places where there's 
money, they are near a lot of talented 
people, and it still doesn't work. You go in 
and see junk, and nine times out of ten it's 
because there's too many people around. The 
pottery attracts good people, if you give 
them space and let them work without any 
teaching being done. Everyone improves, and 
they acquire a professional confidence in 
themselves (Holt, "Ken Ferguson"). 
Ferguson took the time to reflect on the "good 
years" he spent as the resident potter at the Archie 
Bray Foundation, and he summed up his experiences by 
saying, 
The dream of Archie Bray flourishes and still 
confounds observers and critics. My first 
years at the Foundation were survival and 
learning years, and later I too was caught up 
in that dream--a dream that I believe in more 
than ever now. I was lucky to be included in 
the history of the Archie Bray Foundation. I 
see it now as a "half-way" house for potters, 
a good place to work and then move on (Weiser 
et. al. Vol. VIII, pg. 51). 
CHAPTER 6 
DAVID SHANER (1964-1970) 
"I came to pottery relatively late," Dave Shaner 
said. His undergraduate degree was in Art Education; 
and, as was the case with Ken Ferguson, Shaner was 
required to take a clay course to meet the 
prerequisites for his degree. Shaner attended State 
College in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, and he states that 
When I left I really felt frustrated because 
I had a little bit of everything and not much 
of anything. 
I knew even from that time that there 
was something good about clay. On Harold 
Mantz's suggestion I went up to Alfred 
University to look around, met Charlie Harder 
and some of the students there, and I was 
impressed. ... I, like everyone else, was 
very strongly influenced by the "Alfred 
Style". I think that was a strong point at 
Alfred: teaching a sense for form. . . . 
During that first year, 1957, Ken Ferguson 
and Norm Schulman were the two big grad 
students, and both sort of took me under 
their wing (Shaner Vol. VIII, pg. 35). 
After Shaner graduated from Alfred, he taught at 
the University of Illinois. At that time the 
University had eighty-five art instructors alone, not 
to mention all the other departments on the campus. 
Shaner stated that he felt as if he were at the "bottom 
of a big totem pole" (Shaner, Vol. VIII, pg. 35). 
At about this time Ken Ferguson decided he needed 
to make a change within the year; so he decided to 
invite Shaner to join him in the summer of 1963. 
Ferguson had asked Shaner to come and teach for a few 
weeks one summer and then for the whole summer the next 
year. He knew Shaner was familiar with the Bray—that 
he loved the place--and that he wanted to quit his job 
back east. Ferguson says 
Boy, I knew I couldn't find anyone better. 
He really loved Montana, he had a good wife 
who'd support him and you know, won't say 
"Let's leave," and anything like that, and 
who will stick next to him. You know it's a 
pretty tough place to function. The people 
here really move in on you. You're over 
there giving them apple pie and coffee so 
much, and they really adopt you as their poor 
country cousin so to speak, or they adopt you 
as a friend, or potter, and you really don't 
have that much space (Holt, Ken Ferguson). 
Shaner admits that it was not easy for him and his 
wife to decide to pack up and move to Montana. They 
were familiar with the Foundation and "appreciated" 
what Ferguson was doing; but they also knew how serious 
the financial situation was in the brickyard itself, 
and their salary would be low. Shaner said 
[W]e finally decided that was what we were going to 
do--if I was going to become a potter I'd better do it 
now" (Shaner, Vol. VIII, pg. 36). 
When Shaner took over the total responsibilities 
of the resident potter from Ferguson, he was 
twenty-eight and felt that he had enough "energy to 
make the pots" and the "will to lose a few years to 
pursue the goals of the foundation." This decision 
required a financial sacrifice on the Shaners' part, 
but Shaner felt that there were many rewards other than 
financial ones (Weiser et. al. Vol. VIII, pg. 51). 
My salary was $300. a month at the Foundation 
and the rent was $125. in town, so it was 
pretty tight. When you sold pots the money 
went to the Foundation, you collected your 
salary, and everything was plowed back into 
keeping the whole operation going. I had 
received a Tiffany grant that summer so we 
put that money in the bank and when we ran 
out each month we would dip into it. That's 
how we survived the first year (Shaner, Vol. 
VIII, pg. 36). 
Along with their personal financial problems, 
Shaner also had a great deal of stress trying to manage 
the finances of the Foundation. During the first two 
years of his residency, the Small Business 
Administration had the right to foreclose on both the 
pottery and the brickyard. He could never be sure when 
they might be locked out and all the equipment sold 
from under them (Senska 1982, pg.34). 
The legal entanglements were frustrating, 
particularly in our dealings with the Small 
Business Administration which had assumed 
receivership when the brickyard went 
bankrupt. For five years the Bray Foundation 
lay in limbo, putting us in the position of 
being little more than squatters. Just when 
Senator Mansfield thought a deal to separate 
the Foundation from the brickyard would be 
possible, the bottom fell out. The 
government quickly put us on the public 
auction block--The physical property, 
including wheels and kilns all tagged to be 
sold to the highest bidder (Weiser et. al., 
Vol. VIII, pg. 51). 
When the members of the Foundation found out that 
the auction they had been dreading was imminent, they 
organized under the leadership of Bernice Boone and 
sent out a plea for support to all the "friends" of the 
Bray. 
A loyal family of former residents, former 
board members, former students and other 
friends had developed over the years. 
Some--like Sue Bovey and Joyce Mackay, who 
had originally been in the classes for 
legislators' wives--were financially and 
politically influential in the state. Others 
who were nationally prominent, like Mike 
Mansfield and Ray Dockstader, tried to 
persuade the Small Business Administration to 
let the pottery continue and to sell it 
separately from the brickyard, which was to 
be auctioned off. When Bernice Boone sent 
out a plea for support, all the friends of 
the Archie Bray were able to pledge enough 
money so that with the help of state 
businesses and private philanthropists 
recruited by Shaner, the people of the 
foundation were able to buy the pottery, 
including residences and warehouses. Once 
again the right person was on hand at a 
critical time (Senska 1982, pg. 34). 
Bernice Boone recalled that about $2,000. was 
pledged by the people she contacted by mail (Holt, 
"Bernice Boone"). This was not near what Shaner 
figured they needed to collect in order to keep the 
pottery operating. Mrs. George D. Anderson headed the 
drive to raise the funds to buy the facilities from the 
Small Business Administration. The sale price of 
$16,500. was $4,000. more than the foundation had 
raised. An anonymous "eleventh hour donor" pledged an 
"extra large sum" at just the last moment, and the 
foundation received more than enough money to pay the 
government agency and drill a water well at the site 
(Great Falls Tribune 1965, pg. 5). 
Besides the "eleventh hour donor," many hours were 
spent collecting money for the foundation. One 
historic event was an auction held in Helena at the 
Historical Museum. An exhibition of stoneware donated 
by sixteen former Archie Bray Foundation potters was 
auctioned off piece by piece. The collection contained 
ceramic works by Pete Voulkos, Rudy Autio, Maxine 
Blackmer, James and Nan McKinnell, Kenneth Ferguson, 
Fred Bauer, Patricia Warashina, Larry Eisner, Bill 
Sage, Donald Reitz, Harold Mantz, Frances Senska, Jo 
Reid, Peter Meloy, and Dave Shaner. There were five 
Montana artists who also contributed two-dimensional 
works: Robert DeWeese, Jesse Wilber, Branson 
Stevenson, Larry Hayes, and Mabel Bjork (Harper 1965, 
Pg- 1). 
An article titled "Potters Collect Pennies to Save 
Landmark" in the Missoulian on May 16, 1965, stated 
that the auction brought in more than $2,000. The 
lengthy article described the nature and function of 
the Foundation and detailed the precarious position of 
the foundation. The article related that more money 
was needed and donations could be sent directly to the 
Archie Bray Foundation (Beeder 1965, pg. 4). 
Shaner describes the auction: 
We succeeded in purchasing the buildings and 
contents through competitive bidding--and, by 
God, someone did bid against us! The money 
had to be paid in five days which we were 
fortunately able to do through generous 
donations by potters, students, and the local 
support from many fine people (Weiser et. 
al. , Vol. VIII, pg. 51) . 
Even with all the financial pressure, Shaner 
continued the traditional workshops and developed a 
national reputation for his work. During 1964 and 1965 
he received a purchase award from the St. Paul, 
Minnesota Art Center, and awards from the Henry Gallery 
in Seattle, the Oregon Ceramic Studio in Portland, and 
the Washington State Historical Museum, Olympia (Great 
Falls Tribune 1965, pg. 5). 
Kurt Weiser, the current director of the Bray, 
gives Shaner credit for helping to shape the important 
position the Foundation holds in the history of 
ceramics by stating 
It was David Shaner who received the first 
grant ever awarded to the craft by the 
National Endowment for the Arts. This 
enabled him to bring to the Foundation such 
potters as Val Cushing, Jun Kaneko, Chuck 
Hindes, Wayne Higby, Victor Babu, Mick Lamont 
and many others. Workshops were also 
arranged that brought Daniel Rhodes and 
Warren MacKenzie to the Foundation. In 1970, 
after seven energetic and immensely 
productive years, Shaner left to set up his 
own pottery in Bigfork, Montana (Weiser et. 
al.. Vol. VIII. pg. 48). 
In summing up his experience at the Bray, Shaner 
said, "It was a hell of a lot of work--but the 
experience was as rich and the effect as long-lasting 
as anything I'd done before or since" (Shaner, Vol. 
VIII, pg. 36). 
CHAPTER 7 
DAVE AND JUDY CORNELL (1970-1976) 
Dave and Judy Cornell both attended Alfred 
University in Alfred, New York. Both were 
working on Master of Fine Arts degrees with 
majors in ceramics — she minoring in 
sculpture, he in glassblowing. It was Dave's 
first trip east. Judy had never been west. 
They married in '68 and moved to Penland, 
North Carolina, where they were co-resident 
craftpersons at the Penland School of Craft 
(Metcalf 1976, pg. 43). 
Dave and Judy had been working at Penland for 
about a year when Dave Shaner called and asked if they 
would be interested in taking over the management of 
the Foundation. Dave Cornell had worked at the Bray 
while he was a student at Montana State College, so he 
was familiar with Helena; but the move was not an easy 
decision for them. Since his work in Bozeman at the 
College, Dave had become seriously involved with 
glassblowing, and there was no studio space for that 
craft at the Bray. When the Board agreed to expand the 
facility to include a glassblowing studio, they 
accepted the offer (Holt, "Dave Cornell"). 
In an article in The Independent Record. Dave's 
drive to work with glass was described, 
[Judy] shares her husband with a transparent 
mistress, for he is Dave, the glass-blower. 
But you can't watch him do his unique thing 
for a time yet because he waits on Uncle Sam 
for a grant to fireproof and ventilate his 
studio before he can build his furnace. To a 
glass-blower such hopes are "pipedreams." 
(Wynn 1970, pg. 22) 
Cornell did build a glass studio with a grant from 
the Montana Arts Council; and while he waited for this 
project to finish, he spent the first year learning the 
"nuts and bolts" of running the Foundation. Ann Shaner 
stayed on for a while after the Cornells arrived and 
"answered any question he could come up with" about 
running the business (Holt, "Dave Cornell"). 
From their exciting experiences at Penland, the 
Archie Bray Foundation seemed too narrow an experience. 
Upon discovering that Archie Sr. had envisioned the 
Foundation to include many types of artistic media, 
Dave and Judy decided to expand the facility to 
accommodate other craft media. This decision also 
meant that the workload at the Bray would grow; so even 
though Cornell was "really the one asked to be 
director," they decided to divide up the 
responsibilities and be co-directors. Apparently the 
board had some problems allowing Judy to take over 
teaching the ceramic classes, making most of the 
pottery for sale, and making major decisions that 
affected the pottery. The wives of past directors had 
indeed been very important to the smooth running of the 
pottery, but the actual decisions were announced by 
the male director. Having been an equal to Dave at 
Penland, this attitude was difficult, if not 
impossible, for Judy to understand. She stated that it 
was a stressful but growing period of time for her. 
"One of the hardest parts of Montana for me was being 
accepted as an artist and a professional." As these 
adjustments were made, Dave and Judy slowly began to 
implement their vision of a broader art center (Holt, 
"Dave and Judy Cornell"). 
Some of the basics at the Bray have remained 
under Dave and Judy's guidance, and many 
major changes have been made. There is still 
an artist in residence program. According to 
Dave,"there are normally 8 potters and 3 
glassblowers. We had 11 a year ago. They 
work here, rent studio space at minimal rent, 
and buy materials at cost. A residency lasts 
anywhere from six months to two years, a 
typical period is one year" (Metcalf 1970, 
Pg- 43). 
Under Dave and Judy, the residency program was 
defined so that there was a format to follow in 
applying. The prospective residents were required to 
submit slides of their work, a resume, letters of 
recommendation, and a statement of purpose. Using this 
format the new residents were chosen, "the idea being 
to have a varied group, not all doing the same type of 
work" (Holt, "Dave Cornell"). At this time there were 
many different kilns so one could do all the 
experimenting one wanted. "There were 3 electric, 2 
gas, 2 salt, 1 wood fire, 1 primitive fire and 1 raku 
kiln" (Metcalf 1976, pg.43). 
"One of Dave and Judy's innovations [was] to 
initiate summer sessions for advanced students with 
specific ceramic art disciplines" (Metcalf 1976, 
pg.43). "Summer classes brought an influx that 
speckled the grounds with bright tents" (Senska 1982, 
pg. 34). The summer sessions brought a mixed response 
from the Board and some problems with the facility. 
For example, the sewer system wasn't designed for large 
crowds and a much larger drain field had to be built. 
The two to three week programs were very intense. 
People were working night and day. By the end of the 
eleven week sessions, the residents were pretty well 
"burned-out" from the intense working and partying. 
Some of the local residents of Helena felt that their 
area was being taken over by all the advanced students. 
Taken as a whole, Judy felt that history would say that 
"the sessions added much more to the community than 
they took" (Holt, "Judy Cornell"). 
Another addition to the Bray by the Cornells was 
their holding six art exhibits yearly. They started 
the Christmas sale and shows that included many artists 
with mixed media. Along with the addition of 
glassblowing at the Bray, Dave set up a weaver and a 
woodworker. Another major change was altering the 
financial base of the Foundation by expanding the sales 
of supplies and equipment (Holt, "Dave Cornell"). 
When I asked Dave what a typical day at the 
Bray was like, he answered, "typically 
atypical." He feels his personal growth as 
an artist has been somewhat diminished 
because of the deluge of paperwork and human 
relations he faces daily. But he's the first 
to admit this is not all bad. "It's good in 
that I get to make my own mistakes. The 
Board of Directors has been very liberal in 
letting me run the Bray." Judy's work was 
gaining significant national recognition this 
year. She was selected to exhibit in 'One 
Hundred American Artists Commerorate the 
Bicentennial' co-sponsored by the Fairtree 
Gallery in New York City and the Xerox 
Corporation. She has also been selected by 
Scripp's College in Claremont, California as 
one of the top five ceramic artists of the 
year (Metcalf 1976, pg. 43). 
The Cornells were never satisfied with the status 
quo of the Foundation. Once they learned what Archie, 
Sr. had in mind, they too wanted to develop the old 
brickyard and turn it into a complete art center. They 
took several steps to try to acquire the brickyard, but 
the owners in Canada would not cooperate. They applied 
to the Montana Arts Council and received grants to 
develop a feasibility study, and a proposal was 
presented to the Board regarding the possibilities of 
developing the brickyard (Metcalf 1976, pg. 47). They 
never saw these plans materialize while they were the 
directors, but their plans became valuable documents 
for the next resident directors. 
The Cornells planned to stay five years at 
the Bray. Dave said, "A place like this 
needs a change of leadership every so often. 
So in the back of our heads we're thinking of 
wrapping it up. We'll go somewhere else to 
try something new, some new ideas. We're 
overdue by a year" (Metcalf 1976, pg. 47). 
CHAPTER 8 
KURT WEISER AND CHRISTY LASATER (1976 to present) 
"In the fall of 1976, Dave decided to set up his 
own workshop in Oregon, but stayed on until Spring to 
help Kurt and Christy Weiser get started operating the 
pottery" (Weiser et. al.. Vol. VIII. pg. 48). When 
Kurt Weiser and his wife Christy Lasater. both former 
students of Ken Ferguson at the Kansas City Art 
Institute, took over the management of the foundation, 
they brought with them new and fresh ideas. Christy 
writes. 
When we arrived in 1976, we felt the Bray 
needed a strong force of clay artists. At 
that time there was only one full-time 
artist, the local classes and two glass 
blowers (Lasater 1987, pg. 1). 
The board has always had a policy to let the 
resident potter do things his own way and to support 
the director with advice when needed. So the Weisers 
were encouraged to change the style of the foundation 
as they saw fit. Under their leadership "The glass 
studio was taken out, the clay mixer moved, and six 
[ceramic] artists came from across the United States 
and one from Japan ready to work the summer of 1977. 
Now the Bray felt like a pottery" (Lasater 1987, 
Pg- 1)-
Kurt realized that the clay business was a very-
important part of the Foundation, but he also 
recognized that running it took too much time from his 
duties as director. Therefore, a position of materials 
manager was added; and Chip Clawson was hired to run 
the clay business. Having this position filled freed 
Kurt and Christy of that responsibility so they could 
concentrate on running the pottery with enough time to 
make their own pots. Along with these changes, some 
new kilns were built and "they have added a heat 
exchanger and duct system to take heat from the kilns 
to warm some of the studio spaces--a sign of the times" 
(Senska 1982, pg.34). This system of management seems 
to be working well. So well, that the Foundation is 
now closer than ever to fulfilling the dream of both 
Archie Bray, Sr., and the Cornells—expanding to become 
a cultural center. 
In 1985, twenty-one years after the bankruptcy, 
the Foundation was able to buy back the brickyard. 
Bill Porter and Ray Dockstader, members of the Board of 
Trustees, described it as a "dream come true." They 
considered the acquisition of the brickyard their 
"ticket to the future," with progress only revolving 
around money (Montana Gallery 1986). 
Now money is not the problem it used to be. Chip 
Clawson has made the clay business very profitable. 
The sales of materials provide one third of the 
operating capital, sales from the gift shop, tuition 
from the community classes, and an occasional grant 
provide the rest. At this time yearly sales from the 
materials business run between $120,000 to $130,000 per 
year (Montana Gallery 1986). 
In the . . . years that Christie and I have 
been here we've been fortunate to have 
attracted a fine group of potters who have 
put an immense amount of time and energy into 
the place; building kilns, unloading railroad 
cars full of clay, clearing brush, making 
clay, and most importantly, making good pots 
(Weiser et. al.. Vol. VIII, pg. 48). 
Now with the increased space the Foundation is 
going to be able to provide room for six more full-time 
residents. The expansion plan now has the new studio 
space in the building that used to hold the clay 
business, and the latter has moved into one of the huge 
warehouses that was once part of the brickyard. There 
are plans for a building to house the permanent 
collection of pottery produced at the Foundation, and 
more plans, in the early stages, for music, dance, and 
other fine arts, such as painting studios. Already a 
saxophone artist has been playing inside the empty 
beehive kilns to groups of twenty to thirty people. 
The "sound is incredible" (Montana Gallery 1986). 
During the first summer Kurt and Christy opened 
the new facilities, three resident artists made 
sculptures using the materials left piled around the 
grounds by the Western Clay Company. 
Kathryn Holt, one of the three, wrote a paper 
describing the work she, Robert Harrison, and David 
Vertacnik did during the summer of 1985. She described 
sculptures that refer back to the origin of the 
materials they used, making a link between the 
Foundation, the brickyard, and the landscape 
surrounding Helena (Holt 1985 pgs. 1-2). 
Akio Takamori, another resident potter, has come 
and gone three separate times. He said that the Bray 
has provided a facility for him to work at while he 
decides what he wants to do (Montana Gallery 1986). 
Christy Lasater commented on the atmosphere at the 
Bray in 1987. 
At the Bray, Kurt works seven days a week and 
then some, one will never find the studios 
not in use. The studios are open 24 hours a 
day. The energy level at the Bray is always 
on. 
Christy went on to say that they have worked with many 
clay artists since their first summer in 1977. 
Including Kurt and Christy, there are twelve clay 
artists presently working at the Bray. The artists are 
working with the clay according to their own personal 
style. There is interaction between the artists 
discussing such things as the firing process, clay 
bodies, and glaze materials; and they often coordinate 
the use of kilns. 
An important attitude that one tends to find in 
the residents is one of dedication to working in clay 
no matter what the personal sacrifices may include. 
Christy comments, 
The Bray is a center for artists that do not 
want to work alone, but whonft want to 
concentrate and dedicate most of their time 
and energy in working in clay no matter what 
it takes. The artists balance jobs downtown, 
teaching classes, running families, and 
running their studio at the Bray (Lasater 
1987, pg. 2). 
Lasater expressed an attitude about the Bray that 
closely paralleled one shared by Ken Ferguson. She 
agreed that the Bray is neither a college nor school, 
but a place where artists can concentrate on their 
treatment of clay, yet have the benefit of sharing 
ideas with others. "The Bray is where an artist can 
work out the imperfections and seek information needed 
to become the artist he or she is and then move on" 
(Lasater 1987 pg. 2). 
Kurt goes on to say that the Foundation continues 
the tradition of providing work space for residents 
while supporting itself from the clay business and the 
gallery. Classes are still offered during the 
traditional school year, and the summer months "are 
left flexible for short-term workshops conducted by 
visiting potters from around the country" (Weiser 
et.al., Vol. VIII, pg. 49). 
In the ten years that Kurt and Christy have been 
working at the Bray, they have won various awards and 
been in many regional and national shows. The clay 
artists they have worked with have also "gone on to 
teach, set up studios, and many have received National 
Endowment Grants" (Lasater 1987, pg. 1). In 1981, 
Governor Ted Schwinden was asked to present the awards 
for the "Northern Rockies Clay 1981" show in Kalispell. 
Upon presenting the two top prizes to Kurt Weiser and 
Dave Shaner, he referred to them as the "Archie Bray 
mafia." Earlier in the year, the governor's annual 
award for the visual arts had been presented to Rudy 
Autio and the award for outstanding institution in the 
arts had gone to the Archie Bray Foundation (Senska 
1982, pg. 34). 
Kurt Weiser concluded, "I imagine that it would be 
somewhat of an understatement to say that a lot of good 
people have worked here. It's been the spirit and 
enthusiasm of these people that have kept it alive and 
made it more than just another place to make pottery" 
(Weiser et. al.. Vol. VIII, pg. 49). 
CONCLUSION 
The Archie Bray Foundation has become a center of 
excellence in the world of ceramic art. It began with 
the dream of Archie Bray, Sr. to "provide a nice place 
to work" for ceramic artists. His dream has expanded 
far beyond the boundaries of a brickyard in a small 
mountain community to reach potters not only in the 
state of Montana, but from around the world. The once 
tiny pottery in the line shack of the brickyard has 
grown in both size and influence. The Foundation has 
become the "Center of the Universe" in clay. 
This stature was not earned overnight. The growth 
and importance is due largely to the artists and 
members who have been dedicated, determined, and 
willing to sacrifice personal gain for the sake of the 
Foundation. Committed artists, like Pete Voulkos and 
Rudy Autio, were willing to risk their futures on 
Bray's dream; local townspeople, like Bernice Boone and 
Virginia Walton, were willing to give their time and 
money to also insure the success of the Foundation. 
Voulkos and Autio, fresh from college and full of 
enthusiasm and ambition, needed a place to do their art 
work. Mr. Bray provided that place. These men used 
the Foundation just as Archie Bray, Sr. had envisioned. 
As they became more experienced and their reputations 
as artists grew, they moved on and made room for others 
to have a chance for artistic experimentation and 
growth at the Foundation. This pattern has continued 
throughout the history of the Bray. 
An important factor in the historical significance 
of the Bray is the way in which the residents have 
consistently continued to mature artistically and 
become mentors to aspiring potters. This pattern has 
given the Foundation credibility, created growth and 
change, and spread the reputation far and wide. One 
can not help but see the legacy which seems to follow 
one resident potter after another. The phenomenon is 
bigger than all of us. Christy Lasater sums it up by 
saying, "Good pots have always been made at the Bray 
Foundation since 1951. Quality work will always be 
made here, for 'the Bray is a fine place to work'" 
(Lasater 1987, pg. 2). 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
Autio, R. "Eleven Montana Potters." Studio Potter 8:1. 
Beeder, J. 1965. "Potters Collect Pennies to Save 
Landmark." The Missoulian May 16. 
Boone, B. 1960, "The Archie Bray Foundation and The 
Pottery." Quarterly of the Montana Institute 
of the Arts December 3. 
1987, Personal letter to the author. March 2. 
Callahan, M. 1954. "The Comeback of the Potter." The 
Seattle Times April 11. 
Great Falls Tribune. 1982. "Examples of Marguerite 
Wildenhain's Work." April 18. 
. 1966. "Anonymous Donor Saves 
Archie Bray Foundation." April 22. 
Harper, G. 1965. "Foundation Fighting for Survival." 
The Independent Record February 14. 
Harper, Mrs. G. 1965. "Archie Bray Foundation 
Fighting for Survival." The Independent 
Record February 14. 
Henry, 0. 1963. "Famed Woman Potter Has One-Day 
Workshop Here." The Independent Record 
June 9. 
Holt, K. 1985. Personal Journal given to Kurt Weiser. 
Holt, M. 1977-1979. Taped conversations with the 
people directly involved with the development 
of the Archie Bray Foundation. 
The Independent Record. 1952. "Bray Foundation Work 
Explained At Rotary Club." June 26. 
. 1952. "Marina Svetlova 'Tosses a Pot' 
At Bray Foundation as Do Other Members of 
Ballet Cast." April 20. 
. 1964. "Helena Potter Has Exhibit In New 
York City Museum." June 16. 
Lasater, C. 1987, "Comments on the Bray." Personal 
letter to the author. March 11. 
Laurel Outlook. 1964. "Champagne feast opened pottery 
where famous potters worked." August 5. 
Lindley, V. 1951. "The Archie Bray Foundation." The 
Arts of Montana 1977. 
Metcalf, J. 1976. "Today At The Bray." Montana Arts 
28:2. 
Montana Gallery. 1986. Montana Public Radio station 
tape of Kurt and Christy Weiser. 
Senska, F. 1982. "Pottery In A Brickyard." American 
Craft Feb-Mar. 
Shaner, D. "David Shaner Montana Conversation." 
Studio Potter August 1. 
Weiser, K. and C. "Eleven Montana Potters." Studio 
Potter 8:1. 
Weiser, K., Autio, R., McKinnell, J. and N., Ferguson, 
K. , nd D. Shaner. "The Archie Bray 
Foundation." Studio Potter 8:1. 
Wynn, L. 1970. "Potters Draw Craftsmen." The 
Independent Record June 14. 
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