Red Lodge Clay Center Long-Term Resident 2014-16
Kirk Jackson is originally from Lewis Center, Ohio. He discovered clay, as an expressive material, while studying at The Ohio State University. While pursuing a BFA there, Kirk had the opportunity to spend a semester in Jingdezhen, China and also did a summer residency at Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts. After completing his BFA, he worked as Studio Manager at Watershed, participated in the Working Artist Program at Longwood University, was a Resident Artist as well as instructor at Seward Park Clay Studio. He then become a Long-Term Resident for two years at Red Lodge Clay Center and two years at the Clay Studio of Missoula. Kirk currently lives and works out of his own studio in Helena, Montana.
As a maker, I revel in the collections of fixtures people choose to live among and the rituals and intimate experiences those articles generate. By creating objects used for the daily cup of coffee or the annual social gathering with family and friends, I am able to have an ongoing and complex non-verbal connection with those who choose to use my work. My intrinsic need to create and labor with tactile material fuels my studio practice, and ultimately, I envision others experiencing my work through the primal sense of touch that parallels the making process.