Archie Bray Foundation — Attraction in Helena

This place was so cool. Free to wander around the property with no guide! There weren’t many visitors there (I saw maybe 4 during my 2 hour visit), and you could walk the sculpture trail (be sure to have jeans or heavy duty leggings on, as there are some trails that have tall weeds, but not really any obstacles).

Various styles and sizes of pottery/ceramic art pieces and thousands of bricks are strewn about the property; creating a sort of hippie/industrial vibe.

Going inside the kiln dome was one of my favorite parts. The acoustics are awesome!

The gallery inside the entrance of the “park” is filled with small ceramic art pieces for sale from various artists. Very cool experience...

This is a really cool place. It's a combination museum, art school specializing in ceramics, abandoned brick making factory and ceramic art retailer all rolled into one. They sell ceramic art in its many forms, but, even if you don't purchase anything, it's fun to go. It's fun to explore the grounds discovering the many artistic treasures obvious and hidden, and to see the remains of the brick factory. Helena is a really really nice town to visit with a lot of really interesting things to see and do, and I would say this is one of the two or three best things to see in Helena, particularly, if you enjoy art in general and ceramic art...

An absolute must go to if you have an opportunity. One of the few Potter's Meccas in the United States The Archie Bray was founded and has a mission of being a place where people can work to get better. And as a result it offers many different residencies and evidenced by that you will see pieces that either didn't work out or were just a stepping stone towards a particular artist and goal almost littering the property. I wouldn't consider it littering though as each piece is an expression of the learning process. I spent about an hour and a half just walking around the property as the gallery was closed And I can say that even...