With shovel in hand, ceramic artist David Peters stood on the upper slope of a road cut at Flesher Pass as the sky spit snow and an icy wind one recent blustery morning.

Peters had been to this road cut before. After several minutes of digging into the rust-colored soil, he hit paydirt. Scooping up a handful of white, gummy earth, he rolled it into a ball and tossed it down the slope. What had once started out as molten rock millions of years ago is now a soft, white clay.

Some day soon it will be transformed by fire, once again, into ceramic pots and vessels.

Within a short time, Peters has filled a trash can with the rust-and-white-colored earth.

In another can, he adds chunks of broken, blackened rock, Grano-diarite, which he'll transform into a black glaze for his ceramics.

Today is just one of many of Peters' quests.

A resident artist and 2009 Matsutani Fellow at the Archie Bray Foundation, Peters has been exploring the creeks and hillsides of Montana in search of clays for the past year and a half.

He and local geologist and ceramic artist Tim Stepp will share what they've learned in a Bray class, "Connecting to Place -- Exploring Local Ceramic Materials," May 29-31. A public talk is set for May 30 at 7:30 p.m. at the Archie Bray.

Peters began exploring local clays after arriving at the Bray. He became inspired by the story of its brickworks -- learning that local clay and bricks were used to build the beautiful, historic buildings of Helena and even its brick sidewalks.

"This interest in local materials and local clays has opened up a whole new direction in my work," he said, standing in his studio.

On the surrounding shelves and the table rest some of his works. One, a beautiful turquoise bowl with a sugary texture on the outside, is made from Basin Creek clay.

Another is a dark, metallic-looking earthen vessel with an outer rough, dry texture, Peters compares to the feel of "a horse's nose or a dog's paw." Its dark, streaked colors are "painted by the atmosphere of wood firing."

A white dish came from clay he dug near Lewistown.

"People will tell me about a guy making pots out of dirt," said Peters. This calls for an excursion to meet up with the artist, or rancher or a geologist to learn more.

Peters always gets permission for his digging, he said, often paying the person with ceramic pots. And he always returns the earth to the way it looked before he started.

Bringing together science, art and craft comes to Peters naturally.

He credits his mother, an earth science teacher, with sharing her sense of awe about the world around her, and teaching him about geology and dinosaurs.

From his father, a woodworking teacher, he learned to create craft items by hand and how to select the correct material.

He's been doing art, drawing and painting, as long as he can remember.

Peters grew up in the ranching area of Amarillo, Texas, and his family frequently traveled to New Mexico.

There he learned of two gifted potters, Lucy M. Lewis and Maria Martinez.

"A lot of their art was about being rooted to a place, a culture and a history," he said. "I'm interested in finding that for myself."

Peters' fascination with the connection of ceramics to place deepened when he studied art in China and Japan as a student at Utah State in Logan.

China's famous center of porcelain, Jingdezhen, he learned, grew from the pure white kaolin clay of the surrounding landscape.

As Peters talks about these historic sites and potters, he pulls books from a shelf in his studio. One shows a picture of a simple, beige earthen-brown bowl, "Kizemon."

Made from local clays, it was once used by an unknown peasant for eating rice.

"This pot in Tokyo was sold for $500,000," Peters said. "Today it is a national treasure. It was owned by some of the most important warlords of Japan."

This bowl and others like it became imbued with meaning and were highly prized by the owners, being passed down as prized gifts at the time of the warlord's death.

"They were seen as a means of enlightening yourself," said Peters.

Ceramic art in China and the West is about controlling your materials, he said. "In Korea and Japan, they are much more interested in what does that material do and how can you let that show through.

"One is more a mentality of perfection, the other a mentality of harmony."

A crack might not make you throw a piece away, he said, it might add to its value

"I think it finally led me to look at local materials, and now that I've looked, local materials are shaping what I do.

"What I am doing is pretty different from what other ceramic artists would think of doing," he said. "I don't dig clay because it's cheap to dig clay but because of what it offers me."

Unlike many ceramic artists who prefer the uniformity of commercial clays, Peters values the little bumps and nuggets of minerals that are in the native clays.

"This is rough," he said, pointing to the flecks of mineral on the bottom of one of his bowls. "(But) it comes from where you live and it has meaning and beauty in it. It's really inspiring and fun for me. I'd rather have excitement and a little less predictability."

It's also a lot of labor.

The dirt Peters dug that morning will dry outside.

Then, he'll break up a pile of about 200 rocks with a hammer. He grinds them first in a hammer mill and then a tumbler or ball mill. Once he has ground it fine, he'll mix it with other clay or just add water and begin shaping pieces. These air dry and are then fired in a bisque kiln to stabilize them.

Later, Peters fires them in a wood kiln for 48 hours, which reaches temperatures of 2,200 degrees. The ash and vapor of the different woods will glaze and paint the ware, while the minerals in the clays melt, making the vessel hard and vitreous.

What Peters learns about the clay, he records. In the future, he wants to create a database and write a book to share the information with other ceramic artists.

His work is a path of discovery.

"A lot of what I do in my work is a meditation or prayer," he said. "It requires self discipline and focus. It's not about money. Making money isn't why I do it. I just feel driven to do it."

This fall, Peters heads to graduate school at the University of Montana-Bozeman, where he'll continue his work.

His interest in local clays is part of a much larger societal change taking place, he said. Just as more people turn to eating and buying local, he foresees a time when people will want to buy dishes from a local artist using local clays.

"It seems people are hungry for it," he said. "We're really starting to think about being connected to land and place.

"I'm following my bliss right now, following what's important to me. A lot of people are responding in a deep way to what I'm doing."

Clay workshop

David Peters and Tim Stepp are also offering a three-day workshop, "Connecting to Place n Exploring Local Ceramic Materials." Participants will take field trips around Helena to learn about the geologic processes and learn techniques for prospecting and collecting materials. Participants will also test various materials and gain a deeper appreciation of what local materials can contribute to modern ceramic art. Class is open to all levels of artists, but participants should have some experience with clay materials.

When: May 29-31

Cost: Tuition, $285

Lab fee, $35

Contact: 443-3502

Public talk

David Peters and Tim Stepp will give a public talk about their workshop: "Connecting to Place -- Exploring Local Ceramic Materials"

When: Saturday, May 30, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Archie Bray Foundation Residents Center, 2915 Country Club Ave.

Contact: 443-3502