Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Frances Senska

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.senska01
Creators:
Senska, Frances, 1914-2009
Forbes, Donna, 1929-
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America
Dates:
2001 April 16
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
28 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Frances Senska conducted 2001 April 16, by Donna Forbes, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.
Scope and Contents
The interview took place in Senska's home and studio Bozeman, Montana. Senska speaks of her childhood in Africa and her exposure to African culture, specifically the pottery; immigrating to the United States, attending high school in Iowa City, Iowa, and completing both her BA and MA at the University of Iowa; joining the Navy; her interests in art and specifically how they developed into ceramics; her instructors; her teaching experience; the establishment of the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana; the community of artists in Montana; how function is the most important aspect of her pottery; clay-digging expeditions; the design of her house and studio; how she listens to African music when she throws clay; the influence of craft magazines; the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts [NCECA]; honorary awards and degrees she has received; and changes in the ceramics world over the past fifty years. Senska recalls Peter Voulkos, Rudy Autio, Trude Guermonprez, Henry Meloy, Jun Kaneko, Maija Grotell, Branson Stevenson and others.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Frances Senska (1914-2009) was a ceramicist and educator in Bozeman, Montana. Donna Forbes (1929- ) is the director of the Yellowstone Art Center, in Billings, Montana.

Administration

Sponsor
Funding for this interview was provided by the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America. Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.

Digital Content


More Information

General

General
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 46 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Ceramicists -- Montana -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Decorative arts Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Educators -- Bozeman -- Montana Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women educators Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ceramics Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Archie Bray Foundation -- Faculty Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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