Licia Lucas-Pfadt is a studio potter and mixed media artist.

Born a twin to an art teacher in Pennsylvania, creativity and individuality were encouraged. So after high school, her choice was art school.

After she received her BFA in ceramics and fibers in 1998, she and her now-husband took a six-week road trip exploring this beautiful country. They ended in Montana and have been there ever since. They soon married and had children. Licia began her studio in their home garage. Her two kids are now both in school and she is able to focus more on her work, but prides herself in being a mother.

Licia named her business Shady Grove Pottery after an old Appalachian folk song. It’s a happy coincidence that Rice, one of the many musicians that played this song, had a snake rattle attached to his guitar to make it sound better and she also has snake rattles for sale in her on-line shop. She mainly sells her pottery but also sells her hand pressed papers and nature treasures like rattles and antler sheds. Her recent work explores copper electroforming, enameling, jewelry and more.

She is currently the artist-in-residence at Grey Cliffs Ranch in Three Forks, Montana. She teaches private lessons to guests and supplies the GCR Lodge with one-of-a-kind pieces for use there. She offers private lessons in clay. She also loves gardening and spends her free time growing a vegetable garden for the use of the GCR Lodge.

Licia works exclusively in porcelain clay because it is simple, pure and makes a wonderful canvas for her drawings and made-from-scratch glazes. She fires in an electric kiln to cone 6 (about 2000 degrees Fahrenheit). Her work is both wheel-thrown and hand-built focusing on functional pieces and home décor. All her glazes have been tested for leaching and durability. They are food safe as well as microwave and dish-washer safe. However, she does recommend hand-washing to ensure longevity of your heirloom pieces.

Her work is highly influenced by her life-experiences, and she tries to have many. Travel, meeting people, teaching, exploring nature: these are all things that influence her work. She is very connected with nature and her surroundings, which influence her work from textures and shapes to glaze colors and combinations. She loves the antiqued patterns of old printing blocks and often uses them in her work to create textures. Her illustration work is focused on woodland creatures and botanicals.

Licia takes part in every aspect of her business: designing, glaze making, creating, firing, photographing and shipping. Nothing is mass produced.

She has been making and selling pottery since 1994. With a life time of experience in the arts, Licia has refined her talents to have a professional quality. Her work is an on-going discovery process, building on each new thing she experiences and learns. You will always find new pieces in her shop that will match your growing collection.

If you find her hidden away in the Madison Valley, you'll feel you've discovered a secret treasure.

Please feel free to contact her via email: licia.gcr [!at] gmail.com

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