ClayFest features ceramics from around Indiana
The University of Indianapolis Department of Art and Design hosted an exhibition of ceramic art beginning April 4. The exhibition, entitled ClayFest, features the work of ceramic artists that are current or former residents of Indiana. ClayFest is a biennial event shared by the University of Indianapolis and the Herron School of Art and sponsored by the Mary Howes Woodsmall Foundation.
According to the Department of Art and Design Chair Dee Schaad, ClayFest 2011 will feature more than the traditional clay pottery commonly associated with ceramics. There will be diverse pieces of functional, sculptural and experimental work. To put it simply, ClayFest welcomes “anything made of ceramic,” Schaad said.
ClayFest is a juried exhibition of art, in which current and former residents of Indiana are eligible to participate.
“It’s the top ceramic exhibition in the state of Indiana,” Schaad said.
All work that was entered had to have been completed within the last two years and not previously submitted to ClayFest exhibitions. All of the pieces that will be on display were selected for the exhibition by this year’s juror, Macy Dorf. Dorf is a nationally-known potter who has been working with the clay medium since 1968. He resides in Colorado, where he runs an art studio in the Denver Arts District.
The deadline for entries to be considered for display in the exhibition was February 14, artists who entered ClayFest sent photo images of their works to the university, which then mailed all of the entries to Dorf in Colorado. Dorf hand-selected the individual pieces that are on display in this year’s exhibition. Artists whose work is displayed in the show were notified February 28. Although, as of Reflector press time, Schaad had not seen all of the works, he said that the work of at least three UIndy alumni would be in the gallery.
Schaad and the rest of the art department look forward to this year’s exhibit. Brianna Gannon, a freshman Visual Communications Design major, expressed her excitement about the opening.
“It will be refreshing to see a gallery that’s not just the paint medium,” Gannon said. “It will be interesting to see the different techniques used by the artists in ClayFest.”
During the gallery opening on April 4, more than $2,000 in awards were presented to the most outstanding works. Both functional and nonfunctional pieces received awards, along with one undergraduate award.
ClayFest 2011 is supported through the Mary Howes Woodsmall Foundation, which was established in 1949 by her son Hubert H. Woodsmall in memory of her work with ceramics. Mary Howes Woodsmall was a widowed mother who supported her family of four with her art studio on Pennsylvania Street in Indianapolis, where she taught art and ceramics. The foundation strives to “[encourage] ceramic arts in the state,” according to the ClayFest preview information.
ClayFest will be located in the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center gallery and will be open to the public until April 29.
