The Artists Behind the Studio
Two disciplines. One creative life. Everything made with intention.
Ceramic Artist · Art Educator · Aspen Pot Technique · Grand Junction, CO
Lori A. T. Raper
I have spent more than 40 years working in clay — teaching it, learning from it, and being humbled by it.
My current series is inspired by the Aspen trees of the Colorado high country. There is something in the way they grow — stretched from the inside out, marked by the seasons, connected to each other beneath the surface — that speaks to me deeply. Each piece in this series begins as a porcelain vessel, thrown on the wheel and then stretched from within. Cracks emerge naturally as the clay responds to pressure. The deep black glaze settles into those cracks, making each line visible, permanent, and beautiful.
My work is represented in several Colorado galleries and is held in private collections around the world. Every piece is made by hand in my Grand Junction studio, and no two are ever exactly alike — because no two Aspens are, either.
I make what I make because I believe handmade objects change the quality of a life. Quietly. The way an Aspen grove changes the quality of a hillside.
“True growth happens from the inside out.”
Troy Raper - Bassist, Conductor & Music Educator
Troy Raper believes music belongs to everyone — and he's spent his career proving it.
A bassist, conductor, and music educator on Colorado's Western Slope, Troy serves as Principal Bassist for the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra and performs regularly with jazz ensembles, recording studios, and as a concert soloist. He has performed with orchestras across Colorado including Greeley, Fort Collins, Cheyenne, Durango, and the Crested Butte Music Festival.
As an educator, Troy has built something rare: a genuine community around music. His former students, colleagues, and fellow musicians speak to his belief that music is a shared experience — something that connects people across age, background, and ability.
At MusicalMud Studios, Troy brings that same sense of rhythm and presence. He's the pulse behind the studio — the reason the work feels like it has timing, intention, and soul.
"Troy Raper is a musician of the community. Few musicians on the Western Slope have done as much as Troy to bring people and music together."
— J. Cameron Law, Past President, Colorado American String Teachers Association
Principal Bassist, Grand Junction Symphony · Conductor, Valley Symphony Association Orchestra · Music Educator · Western Slope, CO
Why music and clay?
At first glance, conducting an orchestra and a pottery wheel don't have much in common. Look closer and you'll find they're the same thing.
Both are physical. Both require patience. Both live in the hands — in the pressure, the release, the feel of something responding to your touch. A musician learns that silence is as important as sound. A potter learns that empty space is as important as form.
MusicalMud Studios was built on that understanding. Lori and Troy don't just share a life — they share a creative philosophy. That everything worth making takes time. That craft and art aren't different things. That the best work comes from listening.
That's what you hold when you hold one of Lori's pieces. Not just clay. A whole way of being in the world.
Working with galleries & collectors
MusicalMud Studios works with gallery owners, curators, and serious collectors who are looking for handmade work with a genuine story behind it.
Lori's Aspen Pot pieces are available for gallery consignment, custom commissions, and wholesale inquiry. Each piece is one of a kind, documented, and made to museum-quality standards in her Grand Junction studio.
If you're a gallery owner or curator interested in carrying MusicalMud work, we'd love to start a conversation.