Once a year there are over 70 artists who open their studios to the public. Rick Jenkins is a participating artist. Come visit us October 11-13, 2019. Friday, 4pm-8pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am-6pm.

Boise City Department of Arts & History blog by Brooke Burton, November 28, 2018

Rick Jenkins is a ceramic artist and educator who has shaped the programming at the Art Center inside Fort Boise Community Center and beyond for thirty years, receiving a Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts twice over his career as the Boise City Art Center Director. He is a maker, builder, designer, and tinkerer with an insatiable need to work with his hands throwing pots, digging in the garden, and tearing down houses just to build them back up again, board by board. Rick has passed down his philosophy on art education that demands a foundation of quality: supplies, facilities, and most importantly, people. Six years into retirement, he still reminds himself to slow down, to stay put on occasion and get grounded in the clay. We talked about the soothing nature of dirt, how to share, and putting in the work. He has the rare talent to both a) innovate and construct a complicated spray booth for glazing pots, and b) describe the transcendent exchange of energy that can happen between you, holding a cup by its handle, and the artist who made it. He asks of you no more than he asks of himself: hone your skills, refine your vision, and always, always keep exploring.