FVCC fires up ceramics offerings

Flathead Valley Community College features an expanded selection of ceramics classes for the spring classes beginning Jan. 17. 

Courses include “Introduction to Ceramics,” “Ceramics I,” “Ceramics Studio: Tools and Tech” and “Ceramics Studio: Wheel Throw” taught by instructors David Smith and Robert Markle and newcomers Randi O’Brien and Stephen Braun.

Braun, who is from Whitefish, has exhibited his work internationally and is known for his large-scale raku-fired figurative sculptures. He is represented by the John Natsoulas Gallery of Sacramento, Calif.

O’Brien recently earned a master’s degree in ceramics. She has taught ceramics at The Clay Studio of Missoula and is a former art and ceramics teacher for Bridger Public Schools and a former art teacher for Frenchtown School District.

Her works have been exhibited in group and solo shows across the nation, and she was awarded Best in Show at the College Clay Collective at Genesee Pottery in Rochester, New York.

Markle taught pottery for several years at other institutions before his return to the college to teach this spring.

A stalwart of the Hockaday Museum of Art and Arts In The Park , Markle has fine-tuned his ceramic craft for more than 30 years.

He is widely exhibited in Montana and the Northwest and his work resides in permanent collections of several museums, including the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Smith joined the faculty in 2008 with extensive experience teaching ceramics and design. His works recently were exhibited at the Ceramic Arts Biennial Show at the Tampa Museum of Art and in a national traveling exhibition featuring works by Montana ceramic artists.

To view course descriptions, schedule and registration information, visit www.fvcc.edu. For registration assistance, call 756-3848.