Artist: Carey Nathanson

Carey Nathanson, MONTANA 
View Artist's Products

ARTIST BIO

Carey Nathanson started working with clay during his high school years in his hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina. The bulk of his education in ceramics came in 2018 and 2019 studying wood firing as a studio assistant under John Dix in Kobe, Japan and Nick Schwartz in Comptche, California. Since his time as an assistant, Carey has completed residencies at the American Museum of Ceramic Art, the Mendocino Art Center, STARworks, Red Lodge Clay Center, Cider Creek Collective, Sawtooth School of Art and the Archie Bray Foundation.

Artist Statement

Clay is a challenging medium to work with because of its fragility as a material, the hurdles that come on the path to successful firings and the infinite number of avenues one can take when adding chemistry to the making process. At the same time, the antiquity of the art form and its history rooted in practicality calm my psyche when dealing with the overwhelming number of possibilities and never-ending experimentation inherent in exploring it. Taking clay from the earth and firing it with wood to create vessels that hold food and water is pragmatic, but has the power to yield such multifaceted and dramatically beautiful works of art. I’m drawn to the struggle that comes with working in clay and the difficult task of finding peace as a maker. I love the measured grind of navigating toward more defined goals creatively and trying to achieve
them technically, and feel lucky to be spending my days building momentum over time in a discipline of such a complex and demanding nature.

Residencies:
2024 - 2026
The Archie Bray Foundation: Helena, Montana
Long-Term Artist-in-Residence
2022 - 2024
Sawtooth School for Visual Art: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Artist-in-Residence
2022 Cider Creek Collective: Albion, California
Artist-in-Residence
Participated in anagama kiln build
2021 Red Lodge Clay Center: Red Lodge, Montana
Short-Term Artist-in-Residence
2021 The Clay Studio of Missoula: Missoula, Montana
Community Artist-in-Residence
2020 STARworks: Star, North Carolina
Artist-in-Residence
2019 Mendocino Art Center: Mendocino, California
Artist-in-Residence
Led Workshop “Precise Randomness: Handbuilding with Kurinuki”
2018 American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA): Pomona, California
Artist-in-Residence

Assistantships:
2019 Fieldwork Japan: Tamba-Sasyama, Hyogo Prefecture Japan
Studio assistant to woodfire potter John Dix
2018 Flynn Creek Pottery: Comptche, California
Studio assistant to woodfire potter Nick Schwartz
Participated in anagama kiln build
2018 Fieldwork Japan: Tamba-Sasyama, Hyogo Prefecture Japan
Studio assistant to woodfire potter John Dix

Workshops/Lectures/Panels:
2024 The Archie Bray Foundation: Helena, Montana
Artist Talk
2024 Golden Bridge Pottery: Pondicherry, India
Co-Led Annual Anagama Workshop with Artist Lecture
2023 North Carolina Museum of Art: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Fireside: Forest to Flame Panelist
2020 STARWorks: Star, North Carolina
Artist Talk
2019 Mendocino Art Center: Mendocino, California
Led Workshop “Precise Randomness: Handbuilding with Kurinuki”
2019 Mendocino Art Center: Mendocino, California
Artist Talk
2019 Fieldwork Japan: Tamba-Sasyama, Hyogo Prefecture Japan
Anagama workshop assistant to visiting artist Nick Schwartz
2018 American Museum of Ceramic Art: Pomona, California
‘Lunch and Lecture’ series featured artist
2018 Fieldwork Japan: Tamba-Sasyama, Hyogo Prefecture Japan
Anagama workshop assistant to visiting artist Bruce Dehnert

Fellowships/Awards/Scholarships:
2025 The Archie Bray Foundation: Helena, MT
Lilian Fellowship
2024 The Archie Bray Foundation: Helena, MT
Bray Fellowship
2020 Cheers! Drink Up! 2020 Exhibition: Celebrating the Clay Drinking Vessel
Winner of spirits category
Commonwheel Artists Co-op (Manitou Springs, Colorado)
Juried by Justin Lambert2018 Peters Valley School of Craft: Layton, New Jersey
Received scholarship to attend anagama workshop

Publications:
2025 Ceramic Arts Yearbook
Archie Bray Foundation Long-Term Resident Artists
2025 Ceramics Monthly
Featured in September Issue “Function Focused” Contest
2025 Studio Potter
Article featured in August Woodfire Issue: “Orbiting the Vortex” by Carey
Nathanson
2025 Ceramics Monthly
Featured in June/July/August Issue Exposure Section
2023 Yes! Weekly: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
‘In Residence to Explore Work of Sawtooth Wood and Ceramics Artists in
Residence’
2023 Ceramics Monthly
Featured in June/July/August Issue Exposure Section
2021 Ceramics Monthly
Featured in November Issue Exposure Section
2021 Ceramics Monthly
Featured in September Issue Exposure Section
2020 A Good Dish
‘The Americano Cocktail - Just When We Need an Easy and Refreshing Drink’

Representation:
The Archie Bray Foundation Galleries
Helena, Montana
STARworks Gallery
Star, North Carolina

Exhibitions:
2026 Clay Akar Yunomi Invitational
Clay Akar (Iowa City, Iowa)
2026 Archie Bray Foundation Long-Term Resident Exit Show
The Archie Bray Foundation North Gallery (Helena, Montana)
2025 Archie Bray Foundation Resident Artist Exhibition
Kolva-Sullivan Gallery (Spokane, Washington)
2025 Archie Bray Foundation Long-Term Fellowship Exhibition
The Archie Bray Foundation North Gallery (Helena, Montana)
2025 Red Lodge Clay Center Juried National VIII
Red Lodge Clay Center (Red Lodge, Montana), Juried by Matthew Metz and
Linda Sikora
2025 Archie Bray Foundation Resident Artist Summer Exhibition
The Archie Bray Foundation Warehouse Gallery (Helena, Montana)
2025 Back to the Future: A Collective Legacy of the Bray
Holter Museum of Art (Helena, Montana)
2025 Lake Placid Pottery Invitational
Lake Placid Center for the Arts (Lake Placid, New York)
2025 Push: Archie Bray Foundation Resident Artists
Modern West Fine Art Gallery (Salt Lake City, Utah, NCECA)
2025 The Archie Bray Brick by Brick Mini Auction: Cheers! Exhibition
The Archie Bray Foundation Downtown Gallery (Helena, Montana)
2024 Archie Bray Foundation Resident Artist Exhibition
Kolva-Sullivan Gallery (Spokane, Washington)
2024 Archie Bray Foundation Resident Artist Summer Exhibition
The Archie Bray Foundation Warehouse Gallery (Helena, Montana)
2023 Electric Train Haul
Davis Gallery at Sawtooth School for Visual Art (Winston-Salem, North Carolina)
2023 Hudgens Center 5th National Invitational Cup Show
Hudgens Center for Art and Learning (Duluth, Georgia)

2022 30th Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National
Lancaster Museum of Art (Lancaster, Pennsylvania), Juried by Jack Troy and
Carolanne Currier
2022 Cheers! 2022
Commonwheel Artists Co-op (Manitou Springs, Colorado)
2022 Potsketch 2022
The Clay Studio of Missoula (Missoula, Montana)
2022 Northwest Wood Firing Conference: Landscapes
Chehalem Cultural Center (Newberg, Oregon), Juried by Chris Pate
2022 Woodfire NC Envison 2022: Student Exhibition
STARworks (Star, North Carolina), Juried by John Neely and Priscilla Mouritzen
2022 California Clay Competition
The Artery (Davis, California), Juried by Heidi Bekebrede
2021 29th Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National
Lancaster Museum of Art (Lancaster, Pennsylvania), Juried by Roberto Lugo,
Margaret Kinkeade and Brooks Oliver
2021 Red Lodge Clay Center Juried National VI
Red Lodge Clay Center (Red Lodge, Montana), Juried by Lorna Meaden
2021 Inspired by Malcolm: A Passion for Shino
Sandy Spring Museum (Sandy Spring, Maryland), Juried by Matt Hyleck
2021 Playing With Fire: Altered Atmospheres
Saratoga Clay Arts Center (Schuylerville, New York), Juried by Mark Shapiro
2020 Kindled Spirits
Good Earth Pottery (Bellingham, Washington), Juried by Simon Levin
2020 KC Clay Guild Teabowl National
Bredin-Lee Gallery (Kansas City, Missouri), Juried by Sam Chung
2020 Cheers! Drink Up! 2020: Celebrating the Clay Drinking Vessel
Commonwheel Artists Co-op (Manitou Springs, Colorado), Juried by Justin
Lambert

2020 Mendocino Art Center Artist-In-Residence Exit Show
Mendocino Art Center (Mendocino, California)

Education:
2007 University of Arizona: Tucson, Arizona
Bachelor of Arts in Journalism