By Kathy Crabtree | Contributing writer
If you are looking for a creative solution for a curious student who is struggling in a mainstream learning environment, Paige Wright, a local clay and ceramic artist, might have a suggestion for you.
Wright admits that she was not stellar at academics but found success and a tool to express herself in clay. That experience built confidence in her ability to become better at reading and writing skills, as well as a reason to study them.
Her sculptures are eclectic collectives of creativity. She has an appreciation of multi-faceted incongruent busts. Her “kiss-kiss” bust consists of a male head encased in a helmet covered with flowers. Her works have been professionally showcased at various venues in the Portland area.
Inspired as a 9-year-old art student of Margarita Leon, a noted art educator in Northwest Portland, Paige continued her ceramic studies in high school, mentored by Cindy Irby. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Montana, followed by a two-year residency at the University of Washington, and earned a master’s degree with an emphasis in ceramics.
“My mission is to make space so that people can build a relationship with their creative practice,” she said. “It takes time to see what is inside one’s head and to react to what one can create from that.”
She offers art lessons for students between the ages of 7 and 16 who desire a greater art experience than their current school offers. Adult classes will be offered for those seeking to refresh their creative practice by expanding their ideas with exposure to clay and three-dimensional building. Small group classes are scheduled weekly, and private lessons and special project sessions can be arranged. Group parties are ideal for birthdays or corporate team building.
Along with her classroom offerings, Paige is a full-time multi-disciplinary artist, currently available for commissions ranging from portraits in ceramics, house-number tiles, drawings and paintings with experience in production pottery and large-scale murals. Consultation in ceramic professional practices, glaze formation, documentation photography and technical envelopment are also available.
Interested students can find her Lil Studio Classroom, 3522 NE Liberty St., adjacent to her home. “The studio-classroom designation offers a two-fold purpose,” Wright said. “A studio calls to action the art of creating while a classroom offers a space for growth.”
She also plans “U-paint” group fun creative classes, summer art camps and figure-in-clay workshops with dates to be announced.
Classes are forming now and are two hours long and sold in 10-class bundles on a rolling basis, ongoing so a student can re-register.
Kids (7-16) Art Lessons: Sundays, 1–3 p.m. or Tuesdays, 4:30–6:30 p.m.
Adult Art Lessons: Mondays 1–3 p.m.
Registration applications can be found at paige@thewrightclay.com. For information, call Paige Wright at 406-544-7472. Kathy is a recent transplant from the Midwest and, as she reports in CNews, things are a lot different here.