The poetry of pottery

Looking like a man at ease with his life, veteran potter Robert Markle sits on a big slab table in his Columbia Falls studio with his big black cat Griz curled up next to him.

His tabby Jaguar tries to horn in but gets warned off with a hiss and a growl from Griz. The potter utters a gentle reproach, learning long ago not to startle cats in a studio full of ceramics at various stages of fragility.

“Years ago I had another cat that was walking through some greenware when I hollered, and he jumped,” Markle said with a laugh. “As long as I keep quiet, it’s fine.”

During 40 years behind a potter’s wheel, Markle has left his mark in the ceramics field with his pieces in the permanent collections of several museums, including the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Galleries with Markle pottery include the Hockaday Museum of Art, Glacier Gallery, Apgar’s Cedar Tree and others in Missoula, Bozeman and Libby.

Collectors may also purchase his work at his studio on Badrock Drive off Montana 206.

“I also do the Hockaday art fair the last weekend in July,” Markle, a multi-decade participant, said.

His studio showroom displays his highly-functional yet beautiful pottery featuring bands of  earth-born and sky hues that subtly blend and overlap during firing in the kiln. Markle said that element of surprise creates an enduring allure for this art form.

“That’s the thing I really like,” he said. “You see how much it changes. It’s all fun.”

His describes his inventory as anything one can use in the kitchen and at the table. A cooking enthusiast, Markle finds inspiration for new pieces when he finds himself wishing he had a bowl or dish to hold something for a potluck or dinner.

Such musings have created everything from casserole dishes to pasta and chip-and-dip bowls. Hearty mugs remain a popular staple in the genre of functional, classic pottery.

His own home validates the utility of his art. Markle’s handmade colorful tiles brighten his entry as well as the sidewalk to his house.

“I made all the light fixtures and the bathroom sink,” he said.

Markle stoneware dishes decorate his open cupboards. Some pieces, like a pie plate, have served him for upwards of 30 years.

According to Markle, customers often ask how long it takes him to make various pieces of pottery.

“I have a standard answer,” he said. “I say 40 years.”

His seven-plus-decade journey in life began in Sidney in Eastern Montana, where he took some art classes in high school. Markle said with a laugh that he most likely enrolled because he thought it might be easier than some other courses.

In his first career, he worked for Proctor & Gamble Co. in Sacramento before coming to the Flathead Valley in 1970 in his early 30s. Markle signed up for courses at Flathead Valley Community College, including one in pottery with Jim Flaherty.

He credits the instructor, now retired, with lighting the spark of his lifelong passion for the craft. Markle pursued more training at Alfred University in New York, one of the best-known institutions at the time for functional pottery.

Upon his return, he took more classes and taught community service night classes at the college. At that time, the college was spread throughout downtown Kalispell with art classes held in the old train depot.

“I thought that was really neat,” Markle said. “It really was community-based.”

He and Flaherty formed a partnership outside the classroom when they built a new studio called Patrick Creek Pottery. They worked together for four or five years until Markle sold out to Flaherty and opened a studio in Whitefish.

After a few years, love took him to Harlowton, following his future wife Anne Scott. They opened a studio and worked together; then Anne returned to school to become a therapeutic counselor.

They came back to the Flathead and built  a home and his studio in Columbia Falls. Anne now practices at Imagine Health.

Markle continued pursuing pottery as his avocation. He chuckled at calling it “a living.”

“I’m not really chasing the dollar, but I like the lifestyle,” he said. “Financially, it doesn’t make sense.”

His life has a unique appeal, working in his studio on their 20 acres that includes Guinea hens for security, laying chickens for eggs, lively little dogs and the cats for company.

 Markle encourages people to visit his studio and show room. On a tour, he explained the process he follows, beginning with mixing the special stoneware dry clay mix he receives from the Archie Bray Foundation for throwing on the wheel into various pieces.

When dry, his clay creations go through a bisque firing at 1,600 degrees. Markle next applies lead-free glazes in various shades, which blend at 2,400 degrees in his large, brick, gas-fired, down-draft reduction kiln.

Most pots emerge from the kiln with a satin matte finish — except for his cobalt blue pieces, which have a high gloss. He said 100 percent of his work is functional.

Is it art? Markle said he considers himself a craftsman and has a simple answer to the great craft versus art debate.

“If you are a good craftsman, you are a good artist,” he said.

At 76, Markle said he doesn’t think of himself as “a senior.” The potter thanks medical science for refurbishing various body parts that allow him to keep making the pots he loves and to teach again.  

For the spring semester, he returned to his roots to teach ceramics twice a week at Flathead Valley Community College with other award-winning potters David Smith, Randi O’Brien and Stephen Braun. Markle said he went back for two reasons.

“I really enjoy the people I’m working with; it’s been fun,” he said. “It’s also time to give a little bit back.”