…the kiln makes each piece different….

Terry Hildebrand works with porcelain, sometimes stoneware, to focus on teapots, cups and bowls.  He fires in a soda or salt gas kiln, on occasion in a wood kiln, which gives the vessels a delicate flashing of reds, oranges, blues and greens.   The earth tones reflect the qualities of clay.  Good craftsmanship, ergonomics, and visual balance are important to his work, while maintaining the utilitarian purpose.  The ritual of usage becomes a central experience.  He is keen on presenting his work in groupings, mostly on wooden trays, where his playful sets entice the users to interact with each other and the tray.

The sharing of food, drink, fellowship, and play lie at the heart of our existence and the conscious ritual and enjoyment of these are greatly enhanced by the experience of the visual and tactile senses that the ceramic wares address.

Originally from a small town in Manitoba, Terry currently lives in Winnipeg, although he and his wife Miriam Rudolph spent a good deal of time in Edmonton where he worked as a ceramic artist while she was a Graduate Student at the University of Alberta. Terry received a MFA Ceramics from the University of Minnesota (May 2014).  He received his BFA Honours degree (May 2007) from the University of Manitoba. Hildebrand has taught as Medicine Hat College and the University of Manitoba. From 2008 until 2011 he worked as studio technician in the ceramics department at the University of Manitoba.  In 2015 he attended The Banff Centre's Residency Program WOOD/SODA/FIRE/BANFF with Dan Murphy and Robin DuPont as faculty and has been in residency, a number of times, at Medalta (Medicine Hat).

Aside from his MFA thesis exhibition at the Nash Gallery, Minneapolis, he has exhibited in several group exhibitions: Willock & Sax Gallery (Banff), Quarter Gallery, Minneapolis, the Manitoba Crafts Museum, the Gallery of Student Art, Outworks Gallery, and Ace Art in Winnipeg.