Ceramicist Anne-Bridget Gary has received a $3,000 grant from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point�s Professional Development Committee to study in France.

Gary, professor of art and design, will be one of seven artists from around the world studying in the city of Vallauris on the French Riviera during the summer. Gary will focus on the little-known facet of Pablo Picasso�s work, ceramics.

In addition to being home to the French National Picasso Museum and the International Ceramic Museum, the city is known for its exceptionally pure clay and pottery, which attracts artists from throughout the world.

In 1946, while attending an exhibition of pottery making in Vallauris, Picasso observed potters at work and discovered the creative possibilities of the medium that combines drawing, painting and sculpture. His daring experiments with shaping unbaked clay, applying unusual glazes, slips and metal oxides, produced brilliant results using favorite themes from his painting repertoire between 1946 and 1973.

During the residency, Gary will study and document Picasso�s portraiture in ceramics and create self-portraits. She also will work from photographs and memory to create portraits of her eight-year-old son, Isaac, who will remain at home in Stevens Point.

She will donate two of the pieces that result from her residency to the Art Center in Vallauris and two pieces to UWSP. She will have a period of intense personal time to work on the intimate portraits, which she calls, "a great gift for me."

Gary was selected by an admissions committee based on her previous work and the suitability of the project she presented for the cultural environment of Vallauris. The residency will include a private apartment with workspace and a library. She also will have access to facilities for working in clay including wheels and an electric kiln.

Gary has studied Asian ceramic techniques in China and Renaissance techniques in Italy and says she is looking forward to this additional experience in Europe.

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