My Story:
Crafting With Passion And Purpose
Christopher Noren:
A Journey Through Ceramics and Teaching
I’m Christopher Noren, and I’m the ceramic artist behind Ruby Mountain Mud.
I received my BS in psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1985. During that time, I took a ceramic class almost every semester. After my degree, I did research for the university where I found myself still pulled towards the ceramics department. I went back to school receiving my BS in Art Education with an emphasis in ceramics in 1988. During that time, I worked under the mentorship of Bruce Breckenridge and Don Reitz where I learned the finer points of textural surface qualities, glazing techniques and different firing styles.
After graduating, I was urged to continue my ceramic education at Northern Arizona University receiving my Masters in ceramics under the tutelage of Don Bendel and Paula Rice in 1991.
While in Flagstaff I continued my interest in low-fire salt firing. I also became immersed in the wood fire techniques using the Japanese style Tozan (both the Anagama and Noborigama) kilns. These kilns were built by Reitz, Bendel and their students under the direction of Yukio Yamamoto, a Master potter from Himeji Japan (born in the Ako District of Hyogo Japan). During my time at NAU, I had the honor of working with Yukio in the studio. Though there was a language barrier, we were able to communicate with clay as our interpreter.
After leaving Flagstaff, my wife, Hadley, and I moved to my home state of Minnesota for a year looking for teaching jobs. During that time, I did some post graduate work at the University of Minnesota ceramics department under Curtis Hoard.
In 1993, Hadley and I took teaching jobs in the Elko County School District in Nevada. It was there I spent the next 28 years teaching art in Carlin at a K-12 school. To my students’ delight, clay was my material of choice to cover almost every element of art and principle of design.
With my energies focused on teaching and coaching baseball and swimming, there was little time for work in my own studio (which I didn’t have). It wasn’t until I retired in 2021 that Hadley and I were able to turn our garage into my studio space. And in November of 2024, Ruby Mountain Mud Ceramic Art, LLC was born.
Artist’s Statement
With my functional work texture plays a role on surface quality, sometimes more than others, but uniqueness of each work plays the largest role. Therefore, a set of ten tumblers will be similar in form and size, but they will not look as if they were cast from a mold. In addition, when a work is glazed, it is hand painted and layered so that each is unique.
As with the platters, they stretch the boundaries of functionality. Do they hold fruit, or are they displayed on the counter or wall? That is the owner’s choice!
And finally, my sculptures. They may begin with functional sensibilities, but are pushed more into the realm of the principles of arts use of the elements to explore ideas and visual interest that entices the viewer.
