I use art to
tell a story and ceramics to give people a voice, allow them to share, connect,
and engage with each other.
The Community Table took place in Red Lodge,
Montana this past July. I was awarded the 2015
MJ Wood DO GOOD Residency at
Red Lodge Clay Center. Thanks to Jill Foote-Hutton who conceived of the idea for
this social practice residency.
I am honored
that RLCC selected my proposal for The
Community Table and allowed me to come work with their community. The idea
came a few summers ago when I started thinking about using the meal as a place
to get people together and start conversations. Food is a natural connector and
I have found it makes people comfortable. To sit and talk without food or drink
will make one uneasy but to share food shifts ones perspective in a multitude
of ways.
The Community Table first started in Columbus, Ohio when I
sheepishly set up a tablecloth and a set of dishes in a city park. After no one
even attempted to get near the table I realized I needed to revisit my plans
for the project. So I brought the table inside as part of Trefoil an exhibition
I had with my great friends Lindsay Scypta and Gunyoung Kim. Still the table
did not function at its greatest potential inside a gallery. People we scared
to sit at the table and use the dishes without guidance. And yet again the
project failed. I tell you this because I must learn from my failure. I am not
embarrassed by it or ashamed by it. I look at it as getting me one step closer
to achieving the vision I had for the project. If I had given up with the idea
The Community Table as I know it now
would never have happened.
In my proposal
to RLCC the idea behind The Community
Table was simply a table (really a set of dishes that travels to different
tables) where people preferably those who don’t know each other well could come
together to share meals. When I arrived in Red Lodge at the beginning of July I
spent a few weeks getting to know the community, connecting with business
owners, and planning meals that would take place at the end of the month. I
balanced this with making a set of ceramic dishes in the studio. The cups and
bowls were decorated with a diamond pattern that I found on the side of a
building in town. Working with traditional round wheelthrown plates I decorated
them sourcing images I collected around town inspired by the landscape,
architecture, and businesses that made Red Lodge special.
The way I
approached this project was to share my general idea with the community to see
if they wanted to participate and if so in what capacity. The meals spanned
from a large community meal that was already in place to a small meal at
someone home.
At the end of
the project, I had more friends then I had ever imagined I could gain in one
month and Red Lodge felt like home not a place I had only visited for a month.
I realized that I had intended to come to Red Lodge to bring the community
together but in this happening I had joined the community. I learned that you
cannot change something from the outside and thankfully the people of Red Lodge let me in: into
there homes, their lives, and their hearts! And they taught me a few things
along the way. Most importantly they taught me to trust and to receive. I must
have been naive to think that I could come to town and do this project and the
community would simply say yes and that would be it. In learning to trust, I
allowed the community take ownership and decide for themselves what would
happen with the project. This was difficult but and important step in doing
this type of work focused on community involvement. I view my roll as a maker:
as a facilitator, a potter, and now a story teller. Most importantly I learned
to receive. This came from working with John and Katye from
KMB Communications.
We became great friends and they taught me that receiving back from the
community was an important element to the success of the project and that
allowing the community to invest with me had been the goal from the very
beginning. John and Katye offered their advice, equipment, and time they spent
hours filming meals, interviews, and capturing the story.
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| Monday Nigh Dinner group arranged with Kerri from Honey's Cafe |
Meal 1: Monday Night Dinner group
at Haley's house
Meal 2: Community meal hosted by
Common Ground at the Legacy Lodge
Meal 3: Lunch at Red Lodge Senior/
Community Center
Meal 4: Lunch at The Willows of Red
Lodge, Assisted Living Center
Meal 5: Collabration between
Honey's Cafe, Hope's Artisan Foods, and Moon Lake Market. Keri from Honey’s
hosted the event, Hope prepared the food, and Will from Moon Lake Market
donated the food. These three business owners invited a few customers who came
in during the week preceding to share the meal together.
Meal 6: Lunch in the Sun a summer
program offering a free meal for kids
Meal 7: Montana's Shakespeare in
the Park following Taming of the Shrew
Meal 8: David and Maggy Hiltner
allowed us to invite a few people to their home
Meal 9: Martha Young from Cafe
Regis hosted a dinner that had been intended for all the restaurateurs in town
but expanded to include just about everyone Martha saw that day.
Meal 10: Potluck lunch and artist
talks at Red Lodge Clay Center
Meal 11: Final meal was at Steve
Palmer's Ranch with dinner provided by Wholesome Foods Farm.
All those meals happened in the
course of 8 days. After which Hannah dropped me off at the airport and I was
instantly sick most likely from physical exhaustion.
This project
would not have been half of what it was if not for my project partner Hannah
Newman who spent the entire month of July living, eating, and working with me. Thank you Hannah- words could not possibly express how grateful I am for you hard work, dedication, and friendship!
Hopefully there is a video coming soon to help tell the story!
My hope for the future of this project is that it can expand and reach other communities. That not just the Red Lodge story will live on but that stories will continue to be made day after day and that the dishes that were left behind holding the memories will serve as a daily reminder of The Community Table.
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| Music at Steve Palmer's Ranch during the final meal. |
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| Katye, John, Jeni, Hannah |
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| Hannah, Steve Palmer, Jeni |
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| Everyone contributing to clean up the dishes. |
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| Dessert by Mel the Chef at Honey's Cafe |
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| Collaboration: Honey's Cafe, Hope's Artisan Foods, Moon Lake Market |
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| Lunch in the Sun |
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| Setting up the sign |
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| Lunch at Maggy Hiltner's home |
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| Potluck at Red Lodge Clay Center |
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| Eating good food means washing a lot of dishes. |
