The "Treasure Trove" exhibit opens this week at The Historical Museum at Fort Missoula, celebrating Missoula's history and the museum's 50th anniversary through art.
Ceramicist Courtney Murphy selected an antique muffin tin from the museum's "Everyday Treasures" gallery and reimagined the piece.
She says that she liked the challenge and used it as an opportunity to explore how she could make it different.
Murphy said she altered the timeless form of the antique muffin tin, adding her own touch with scalloped edges and cutouts to make the new piece more visually interesting.
Murphy also shared how history influences her artwork.
"I work in earthenware, which has been around forever so, and I do love that about ceramics that it has such a strong history, so it's always fun for me when I'm at museums just to look at old Peruvian pots, or African pots, and when they're making with pretty simple methods," she explained. "Yeah, and I just love the fact that somebody was drinking out of this cup like 2,000 years ago, and then I'm making cups nowadays."
The "Treasure Trove" exhibit opens at 5 p.m. on Thursday, February 26, at the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula.
