Mission Statement:
Wildfire Ceramic Studio (WCS) is a new and exciting ceramic studio and gallery in the heart of Missoula Montana! WCS provides studio space, professional experience, and gallery representation for emerging artists.
WCS believes that emerging artists benefit from having a dedicated space and community to expand their practice. With this belief, WCS strives to create an environment of creative enrichment, while contributing to the greater art community in Missoula.
A Little More on WCS:
Montana is a very special place for ceramic artists and provides incredible and invaluable artistic and networking opportunities for Ceramic Artists at all stages of their careers. However, there was a need for a place that specifically focused on helping and supporting new and emerging artists.
WCS was co-founded by Ryan Caldwell, Sarah Conti, Stephanie Dishno, Krissy Ramirez, and Bruce Kitts in May of 2020. One month later the WCS crew found a brick and mortar and began the long process of turning it into a fully functioning ceramic studio!
While starting any business endeavor has its challenges, starting a business during the pandemic proved to add a lot of unexpected setbacks along the way.
To help ensure the health and safety of the resident artists at WCS and the greater community of Missoula, WCS upheld strict safety protocols and decided to hold off on engaging with the public until it was safe to do so. This meant making the difficult decision to cancel potential business opportunities and paying for all start-up expenses out of pocket.
Now that all residents are vaccinated, events can be held outside with windows and doors open. WCS is excited to start opening to the public!
Supporting WCS is not only supporting a small business or incredible art community in Missoula but it is also supporting individual artists during critical and challenging times in their career!
Where will the money go?
UPDATE: Wildfire Ceramic Studio hosted a fundraising night at Highlander Brewing Co. and raised $2500.00 to fully fund our BIPOC Women in the Ceramic Arts Fellowship! This is such exciting news and we are more than grateful to be able to provide this opportunity!
Minimum Goal $13,500.00
Money earned from this campaign will help cover initial start-up costs, studio enhancements, and support for artists at WCS!
First off, WCS is committed to stepping up and supporting underrepresented artists who need it most! To do this, WCS is creating the BIPOC Women in the Ceramic Arts Fellowship. This fellowship will fully fund one BIPOC identifying Woman a year, for a one-three month residency at Wildfire Ceramic Studio. This would assist in covering studio rent, materials, firings, and cost of living.
So here is the breakdown:
BIPOC Women in the Ceramic Arts Fellowship: $2,500.00
Gallery lighting and furniture: $800.00
Kilns: $4,600.00
Wiring, vents, etc: $1,000.00
Kiln furniture: $800.00
Glaze cart and start-up materials: $ 600.00
Sinks: $200.00
Studio setup: $2,200.00
Slab roller: $800.00
What if we do not reach our goal of $13,500.00?
Any amount raised will help! WCS is passionate about the BIPOC Women in the Ceramic Arts Fellowship and 30% of funds will be allocated to the fellowship. The rest of the funding will be used to enhance and improve the studio and gallery to make the best working environment possible for the artists at Wildfire Ceramic Studio!
What if we exceed $13,500.00?!
The yearly cost for an artist to have a space at WCS is $3,000.00. This does not cover materials, firing fees, or outside living costs that require many emerging artists to have part or full-time employment. This takes precious time away from their studio practice. WCS would love to raise an additional $7,500.00 to help financially support the artists at WCS. This would bring the monthly studio cost for each artist down to $125.00 a month allowing more time in the studio for each artist!
WCS also plans on selling ceramic tools, underglazes, and clay to the public within the next year. Any extra funding will help to expedite this exciting endeavor!
What if you cannot donate?
Help us spread the word! Share this campaign with any and everyone! Not only can this help us meet our funding goal but it will also spread the word about our incredible studio and gallery to help us grow in other ways! So please do not be shy, use those Indiegogo share tools!
Perks
Along with the different merch available for this campaign we have an assortment of donated artwork that will be raffled off at the end of this campaign! Purchasing raffle tickets will go into a general raffle draw for the pieces.
When you purchase raffle tickets they will not go in for a specific piece.
