Come learn why the Niitsitapi (Black Feet Nation) has called the Gallatin Valley apistsisskitsaahko (The Valley of Flowers) for centuries, while decorating a handmade seed bank for saving & collecting your own seeds! Learn surface techniques such as sgraffito, paper resist and carving into clay to design your own seed bank with your own designs, and/or local flora & fauna. Seed saving etiquette and best practices, the deep history of the Gallatin Valley, as well as ceramic’s intimate relationship to seed saving will be discussed, followed by surface technique demonstrations. Banks will be fired, and ready for pick-up two weeks after the workshop.

Tuesday evenings once a month adults can sign up for workshops to learn specialized art techniques and gain insight into artists’ processes through making and experimenting.

These workshops are free to attend, but space is limited so registration required to allow instructors time to prepare materials. To view project examples and artists’ works please visit the local artist display area in the Family & Community Space.

Rachael Marne is a ceramic/mixed media, collaborative artist and writer, born in Montana on Salish Kootenai and Niitsitapi Shahkoti (Blackfoot) territories. Her practice has taken her to many diverse ecologies which has deeply influenced her advocating for the development and nurturing of one's connection to place, and its woven histories. She is the founder of the Seed Bank Project- an international and intergenerational initiative to save seeds through time and space, and create a platform for sharing stories around the plants you love. She has returned to Montana and has settled in Red Lodge, where she is currently the Programs Coordinator at the Red Lodge Clay Center.