Ceramics sale puts student artwork on full display

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McKenna Webb, a junior from Crestwood, Ky. inspects pottery during the Clay Club sale in FAC on Monday, Nov. 13, which featured art from students in ceramics at WKU. Senior Kathryn Moore, who helped organize the event, says that she enjoys the sale because “people come in with a fresh perspective…and you can get new feedback.”

Noah Moore
November 13, 2017

The WKU Ceramics Club will continue its three-day ceramics sale until tomorrow. The event is held in FAC 151 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and features a diverse array of pottery from teapots to sculptures to plates to jewelry. Some of the work was made by senior Kathryn Moore, a studio art major.

“I made bowls and jewelry to sell,” Moore said. “I love getting the feedback from other people – all ages, some who work here, some students. I think my favorite part is seeing a piece that I may not think people will like being well-received.”

The artwork is no simple task. Each piece takes weeks of work, planning and skill. The meticulous nature of the artistry is something that Brent Oglesbee, head of the art department, has witnessed frequently in this program.

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“Ceramic students must have a strong work ethic if they hope to progress through the program,” Oglesbee said. “At each level, beginners through advanced, there are levels of engagement that are conceptually and physically rigorous. Students complete their program engaged in work that may span traditional utilitarian interests, to sculptures that use clay as their main medium.”

The sale features ceramics to studio art and everything in between. Tables lined the room with not only ceramic artistry, but also t-shirts, snacks and holiday decor. All funds raised from the sale will go to the club funds, which is used to buy supplies or fund trips.

“Some of the money goes towards our annual trip to the Ceramics Convention in March,” Moore said. “But it also goes towards buying things for our club events, such as the wood firing at the WKU Agriculture farm kilns.”

The Ceramics Club and Clay Club both stem from the arts program at WKU, but this ceramics sale is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of fundraising. The upcoming holiday sale is set to provide a portion of its funds to an organization which Oglesbee said “uses the funds to bring in nationally recognized artists to campus for ceramic workshops or aids student travel to such workshops elsewhere.”

Reporter Noah Moore can be reached at 270-745-2655 and [email protected].