Residency Cycle 3- April – June 2025

Rick DeForrest was the Artist-in-Residence for the 2025 Spring cycle. Rick’s works primarily focus on figurative ceramics. During his residency, Rick DeForrest created a series of figurative ceramic works inspired by his childhood experiences in Special Education during the 1970s- a time often marked by misunderstanding and stigma.

With the shifting narrative today, where neurodiversity is increasingly seen as a source of individuality and creative strength, Rick used his reflections to reinforce the message that uniqueness is something to be embraced and celebrated, not shamed.

​His residency culminated in an exhibition titled Dysinformation which opened July 18, 2025. Among the works on view was a piece he and students created during a free workshop called “We Will Not be Standardized” that he hosted at the Fitton Center in May 2025 as part of his residency.