The Spring 2016 team members and selected artists with CSArt team leader, Valerie Zimany.

There are times during one’s final semester that motivation to make work hits a seemingly all time low. It may be the pressures of finishing the degree, or fear of the work not being good enough, but I hit that point a few weeks ago. I was very concerned with how I would over come this feeling in such a short time! Traveling to Kansas City, Mo to attend the 50th National Council of Education for Ceramic Arts conference changed my life, all thanks to the support of Creative Inquiry. It changed my perceptions of ceramics as an art form and as a community building block. I found that being in a common space with so many others’ who shared the love and need for ceramics, not only rekindled my spirit of working, but also pushed me to want to pursue more.
Before leaving to Kansas City, I wasn’t sure I wanted to pursue a graduate program or even ceramics as a medium anymore. But upon talking the representatives of several fine organizations and institutions, I became filled with this need to push myself further with my explorations. Specifically looking at the uses of mixed media within clay, such as acrylic paint, fiber, and wire. I found that by using a multitude of types of media, I am able to achieve the aesthetic goals I am hunting for within my work. The pictures I selected are from the Belger Crane yard Studio exhibition, which features works that pushed mixed media within the realm of clay work.

-Summer Stanley