Bruce Thompson teaches art courses at South Puget Sound Community College and The Evergreen State College. He lives in Tacoma, Washington.
After serving in the U.S. Air Force, Bruce studied art at Eastern Washington University and the University of Washington. He earned his Master of Fine Arts degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Bruce has experience working in several galleries and museums, including the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane, the Margo Leavin Gallery and Ace Gallery in Los Angeles, and the Norton Simon Museum of Art in Pasadena, California. He also worked as the Studio Manager for lamp designer Christopher Spitzmiller in New York City.
Bruce teaches a variety of art courses, including ceramics, printmaking, and photography.
While my pieces often reference the human body and wildlife, my intention is to challenge memory and language. Like humanity’s role within the natural world, the work is intentionally ambiguous.
I work primarily with clay and wood—natural materials that offer a tactile, intuitive process. The act of carefully shaping the wood elements to the rigid ceramic is deeply satisfying, creating a sense of completion and harmony.
Through my work, I hope to stimulate the imagination and evoke a sense that the world is mutable, pliable, and infinitely adaptable.
