Emily Free Wilson

1979Born Anchorage, Alaska

EDUCATION

2001 BFA, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin

RESIDENCIES

2010 Visiting Artist, Art Association of Jackson Hole, Jackson, Wyoming

2011 Visiting Artist, Pottery Northwest, Seattle, Washington

PRIMARY WORK EXPERIENCE

2005–2015 Gallery Director, Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, Helena, Montana

2010— Owner, Free Ceramics / Studio Art Center, Helena, Montana

Emily Free Wilson is known for Dot Pots: functional and decorative porcelain ware featuring black underglaze lines and dot drawings colored with underglaze.

Wilson’s mature work developed in 2003 shortly after moving for an internship at the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts in Helena, Montana. It was there that her long-held obsession with drawing dot forms on paper and three dimensional sculpture migrated towards her pottery for the first time.

 Wilson is attracted to the business side of ceramics: running a gallery, selling works, developing working relationships with artists and collectors. Her business Free Ceramics has blended these facets of the ceramic arts into one unified front since 2010. At this time Wilson started collaborating with her husband Matt Wilson and her brother, Bobby Free, turning "Dot Pots" into Free Ceramics, creating one-of-a-kind pottery that is sold both in Helena, MT and galleries across the United States.

In addition to functional and decorative pottery, Wilson also maintains the StudioArtCenter under the auspicious of Free Ceramics. The Center provides learning opportunities in the ceramic arts for youth through adults, private studio space for multi-media artists, and one of the best acoustic venues in the state for intimate live music events. In 2016, Free Ceramics produced a video, highlighting their artistic work and their work for the community. The segment is available on Emily Free Wilson’s YouTube Channel, accessible here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dQZpLBKBUY.