Ceramics

BFA and BFA

Undergraduate students in Ceramics will be introduced to a range of possibilities in forming and firing technologies that include both pottery making and sculptural work in clay. Undergraduate students can take specialty courses alongside Ceramics graduate students in kiln building, clay and glaze formulation, and the history of ceramics. With rigorous classes, ample exhibition opportunities, and studio tech responsibilities, we prepare our BFA students for artist residencies, assistantships, apprenticeships, post-baccalaureate programs, and internships leading to a professional career or graduate study.

Inspiring, Comprehensive Facilities

Located in Richards Hall, ceramics facilities include an indoor electric kiln room, a covered outdoor kiln pad, a glaze mixing kitchen, a well-ventilated clay mixing room, an organized tool and maintenance area and the “Boneyard” a collection of objects made by thirty years of visiting artists in Ceramics. Classes are held in spacious hand-building and wheel-throwing studios with dedicated space for advanced undergraduate students.

Prestigious Visiting Artists

In addition to the artists brought in by Clay Club, the Hixson-Lied Visiting Artist Series brings six to eight nationally known artists, including at least one ceramic artist, to campus each semester. There is ample opportunity for undergraduate students to interact directly with visiting artists in Ceramics, who each meet with both undergraduate and graduate students, present a series of demonstrations and give a lecture about their work at the Sheldon Museum of Art auditorium.

Clay Club

A Recognized Student Organization (RSO) and part of Student Leadership, Involvement, & Community (SLICE), the Clay Club is a thriving student group that has about thirty members, consisting of both undergraduate and graduate students. Clay Club holds two very successful sales each year where members sell their pottery and sculptures to the public. Most of the funds from these sales go directly to students, but a percentage of the revenue helps to support student travel to professional conferences and symposia like the National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Conference which is held in a different city each year. Clay Club also hosts two visiting artists in Ceramics each year. Other Clay Club activities include pizza-making parties, pot-luck dinner parties, and a bi-annual Throw-a-Thon.