Melissa Kendall
Ceramic pieces, blown glass and jewelry are just a few of the art mediums that will be on sale by both students and professors at the Winter Arts Festival on Dec. 6.
The show will be hosted by the Pierce College ceramics department.
Melody Cooper, art professor, said, “It’s both a show and a sale. It’s the way students get to show their work to the public and then get feedback.”
She said there will also be some food items for sale at the festival including jams and jellies, as well an assortment of free chili and soups, all of which will be homemade by the students.
Lynette Mathis, event representative and ceramics student, said the chili is complementary with a purchase.
“How it works is you buy a handmade chili bowl for $10, then take it to the kitchen to get free chili,” she said. “It’s a treat all the way around because you’re eating out of a piece of artwork and you’re eating delicious chili or soup.”
Because of their strong ceramics departments, ceramics students from Grant and Cleveland high schools will also be displaying and selling their artwork at the festival, said Cooper.
Ceramics students will also demonstrate how to throw pottery on a wheel and let people try their hand at it.
Each artist gets to set their own price for their works, a percentage of which they will keep while the rest goes to the art department for new equipment such as shelves for their new kiln, according to Cooper.
In addition to supplies, Cooper also puts money toward bringing in guest speakers to give educated workshops of techniques that are not taught at Pierce.
The prices of the artwork will range from a dollar up to $200. The event will also feature a $10 and under table, according to Cooper.
“It’s a really great place to do some handmade holiday shopping,” Mathis said.
Vases, boxes, bowls, teapots, sculptures and tiles are just a few different items which are expected to be displayed.
“The students come up with some real ingenious things,” Cooper said.
Some of the pieces being sold will be class projects, while others will be projects done on the artists’ own time. Either way, Cooper said there is no theme to the artwork except for freedom of expression.
“I do a lot of combining thrown forms with slab built pieces,” said Tom Puckett, five-year ceramics student. “The slab is thrown, then I take it apart and I texture it, then I add it onto the piece.”
There will be a special preview of the artwork for faculty and staff Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. in Art 3308. The event will be open to the public Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Art 3308 and at the art quad.
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Ricky Melena, 39, etches a coy fish design on a ceramic flower pot to be sold Saturday at the Winter arts festival. ()