Ceramic art inspired by the mountains, oceans, and deserts of life.

About

Third-generation potter, sixth-generation Montanan

Matt Briney is the son of master ceramic artists Tom and Marcie Briney and grandnephew of sculptor, painter, potter and educator Mike Moran. His whole life has been shaped by ceramic art.

Matt learned in a hands-on manner from some amazingly skilled artists across multiple mediums, and their influence shows in his work. Working in his parents' pottery shop as a teenager was the beginning of that education — but being a potter was not something he had ever entertained, and his life took a different path for a while. Still playing with mud and color, his medium of choice became concrete, and he worked on high-end residential and commercial projects across the Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountains and Southwestern desert. Concrete and clay are very different, but the design concepts, color theory and work ethic he learned from his parents translated well.

In 2009 Matt returned to the family business and began to embrace the idea of being a potter in a family of artists. A high-volume shop with only two potters meant tens of thousands of pots in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and styles — mixing clay, throwing, making glazes, and firing the gas kiln for the cone 10 reduction colors the studio was known for. By 2017 the family was going through 15 tons of clay a year, selling at fine art shows and shipping to gift shops and galleries across the country, most of it in and around Glacier and Yellowstone.

In June 2017 Matt's family was involved in a deck collapse that left his wife with spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries. Her healing journey brought them to San Diego with their three children in 2020, and gave Matt the unexpected opportunity to become a member of the San Diego Potters' Guild.

He found used equipment, set up a studio at the house, and began chasing colors that mimic cone 10 gas reduction glazes while firing electric to cone 6. Working in porcelain and stoneware, he combines wheel throwing and hand building to make decorative and functional pieces that invite interaction, evoke emotion, and hold the possibility of motion in their stillness.

A visit to the family pottery in Montana with Matt and his parents, Tom and Marcie Briney.

Mountain Brook Studio, Montana

Contact

Let's talk clay

For questions about available work, commissions, or anything else — reach out directly. Response within 48 hours, usually with clay still on my hands.