Into the Creative Fire with Casey Gurr

The mind of an artist moves like a pottery wheel in a nonlinear fashion. Casey Gurr has been sculpting the clay of imagination into tangible forms for most of his life. He has gazed into telescopes and microscopes to inspire clay he puts into the fire.

When reminiscing about such sci-fi cult classics as Star Trek and Star Wars, Casey concluded, “There’s something about looking into the black”.

Casey and his dad once pulled an old Fifties Buick out of Hells Canyon. Together they spent many hours working with their hands to bring classic vehicles back from rusted bones. By trade Casey is a High School Arts Teacher. Over the years he's been able to pass the work of the hands onto his students.

He thrived for several years teaching at Eagle High School and now has found a home teaching pottery at Catalyst Arts Collaborative in Boise, Idaho.

“It’s a community, as artists we get stuck in a hole or a studio somewhere, the Catalyst is a place where we can bounce ideas off each other, and be a productive member of society and I get to use my skills,” Casey said when commenting on the community he has found at Catalyst Arts Collaborative.

When talking about teaching pottery classes at Catalyst Arts Collaborative Casey commented, “I love the small groups and the wide range of ages”.

Casey meets his students in an organic fashion and has found the pottery they create is often a reflection of themselves. He teaches the young, old, and in between how to shape clay and then put it into the flame.

“It’s Christmas, it’s waiting for Christmas, waiting for it to come out of the kiln,” Casey said with enthusiasm and a slight smile.

When one of Casey's students forms earthy clay into a new creation it may at first just look brown, but after it sits in a kiln for several hours at furnace-like temperatures, the piece shows its true colors. The chemical reaction created by the intense heat brings vivid shades out of the clay. The artist gets to experience this surprise and then customizes their creations farther with a variety of brilliant glaze options.

If you want to find a new arts endeavor or rekindle a lost love for pottery, link to the Catalyst Arts Collaborative website: https://www.catalystartscollaborative.com/, for pottery classes. Stop by the Catalyst gift shop at 6427 W Ustick Rd, Boise, ID 83704 to see some of Casey's functional and fashionable pottery. Be sure to check out his two exciting new coffee mugs which feature a model with an interlocking lid and another for pour over coffee. Take a pottery class from Casey and start a creative fire!