Red Lodge Clay Center – Short-Term Resident 2013
Nicholas was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. After 20 years, he moved west to Montana. There he completed his BFA in ceramics at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, in 2012. Following his graduation, he held a short term residency at the Red Lodge Clay Center in Montana. He went on to earn his MFA from Utah State University in Logan, Utah, in 2016. While a graduate student he completed a study abroad program at Hongik University in Seoul, South Korea. In 2016, he was selected as a Long Term Resident at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana. Following his residency, Nicholas stayed on at the Archie Bray Foundation as the Education Studio Technician and continue working in my own studio in Helena, MT.
I create objects to present food, offer conversations, invite touch, and enrich space. The work grows from a deep love for historical communal wares; I am inspired by their humility and unapologetic functionality. With inspiration comes adaptation. I touch clay with sensitivity and momentum in order to imagine and design pieces that integrate strength and softness. My work explores the boundaries of function, and the relationship between object and viewer—finding balance between the utility and visual intrigue.