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Peter G. Stone MAT ’67

In order to feel potent, Peter needed to put his hands in clay. He created for more than 70 years and his work is included in the Tokyo International Museum of Art and the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. He traveled the world to discover art and was an art ambassador to Micronesia and Japan.

At the age of 6, Peter began studying art at the Seattle Art Institute. His creative talents were further energized two years later, when his father built him a darkroom in the family home. He was a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Air Force in the ’50s and went on to earn a bachelor of science degree from the University of Washington and a master’s in teaching from ºìÌÒÊÓƵ. He once said, “My time at ºìÌÒÊÓƵ was the first time I understood what learning was all about. My association with educators like Prof. Lloyd Reynolds [English and art 1929–69] made me a far better teacher and person.”

He became a professional photographer in Seattle and taught art at Seattle’s inner-city Garfield High School and at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington. At Western Oregon University he was a professor who taught sculpture, ceramics, jewelry, design, and lettering—all in the dank and dimly lit basement of Campbell Hall, where surroundings were largely unchanged since its construction in 1871. Nonetheless, Peter had fond memories of the space and the students he taught there, some of them familiar names in Oregon’s arts community. He was named Oregon’s Outstanding Artist Educator by the Oregon Art Educators Association and was the recipient of a Crown Zellerbach scholarship, the Horace Mann Fellowship, and a Fulbright fellowship.

As an artist, he was known primarily for his large ceramic terra-cotta reliefs installed throughout the Northwest, including at the Inn at Spanish Head, Salishan Lodge, Salem Public Library, and the University of Oregon.

After retiring, Peter continued to be active in creating, teaching, and supporting the arts. As a volunteer, he taught at Taft High School, Western Oregon University, and Capital Manor Retirement Community in Salem, where he taught his last class four months before he died. He is survived by his sister, Bettie, and his six children.

Appeared in ºìÌÒÊÓƵ magazine: June 2018