Bob Shay, our visiting artist for the month of May firing off his soda kiln. Things are starting to get hopping around here. Pretty soon the summer residents will be showing up and we’ll be in full summer swing.

All of the residents have been busy getting work finished to send to NCECA. The Bray will have a show at Foster/White Gallery in Seattle from March 1-31. Included in the show are the current long term residents and a few selected past residents. Come see the exhibition if you are at the conference!

Until then, here are some images of the residents during the frenzied packing and loading last night. Nick took off this morning and is driving all the work for the exhibition to the gallery. Word on the street is that the night ended up at the Sud’s Hut for some broasted chicken and cold beer. A perfect ending to a day of hard work.

Josh from the clay biz and Jon Read help Alanna Derocchi load a massive piece into the big car kiln. Eventually 6 of us were sliding this thing off the fork lift into the kiln.

The North Gallery has been a buzz the last week getting ready for the fourth annual juried exhibition Beyond the Brickyard. Installation of the 32 chosen pieces is almost complete and ready for the opening this Saturday. Last Thursday and Friday we had a special visitor, Jennifer Holt, who flew in to install her wonderful piece. Check out a few images of her installation. Hope to see you on Saturday night (6-8 pm) when the Juror’s and Director’s Awards are announced.

P.S. If you are unable to make it to the opening night, images of the exhibition will be online starting Saturday at www.archiebray.org.

These are a few quick snapshots of the South Dakota Badlands just past the BLack Hills in the West half of the state. I was on my way cross-country to NY State and drove through. Holy Frijoles its a bizarre landscape right in the middle of the prairie.

Hi everyone. I’m in my 3rd month of residenthood… residence… residentiary (?) at the Bray, and thought it was time to try out the blog. My name is Andrew Casto, but most people, other than my parents, call me Andy. You can see my work here on the site. And in case you hadn’t noticed, that picture by my name in the “Blog Authors” section isn’t actually me (sigh)… it’s former Laker tough guy and all around stud Kurt Rambis. What a gem he was. Anyways… for introductions sake, here’s what I look like when I’m not in the studio:

and this is what I’m listening to lately when I’m in the studio:

and this is what I’m reading when I need a break from the studio:

If you’re reading this, you must be at least somewhat interested in what’s going on up here, and for that we all thank you. The Bray has been outstanding for me so far, and I highly recommend stopping by for a visit when you can.

Once a month the Bray residents and staff get together for a culinary delight. A couple residents and staff team up and cook lunch for the whole group. It has become a great tradition and a nice chance for everyone to take a breather from their studios or desks  and just hang out and catch up. Here are a few photos from today’s PIZZA EXTRAVAGANZA!

Josh from the Clay Biz installing two new Skutt 1227′s in the Shaner Building Kiln Room.

Another reason why being a resident at the Bray is awesome.