As a Senior BFA candidate for Visual Arts in Ceramics and a member of the Spring CSArt Team, I was able to travel with other ceramics students and faculty to represent our program at the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts in Minneapolis at the end of March.

At the conference I had the chance to represent Clemson and our community share program in the exhibition hall. When I wasn't working the CSArt table, I had the chance to attend different lectures. I am passionate about clay and art as therapy and was fortunate enough to attend two lectures regarding these topics. 

The first lecture I attended about therapy was a talk by Cynthia O'Brien who spoke about her work with people in Long Term Care.  Cynthia works with men and women who live at Perley Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre in Ottawa, Canada. This long term care facility has begun to incorporate art and a clay practice into the lives of the residents. What stood out most to me about this lecture was the relationships that Cynthia had built and maintained with each individual resident. She was personally close to each of them and art is what brought them together. Not only did practicing art lead to new relationships for these residents but it improved their quality of life by giving them something to be proud of.

The second lecture I attended was regarding art with the Deaf and Blind. Elizabeth Cohen participated in a pilot program of ceramics at the Perkins School for the Blind. This program allowed deafblind students ages 7-22 to work with clay and realize their potential in a meaningful way.  This program was interesting as there are only a very small percentage of people who are deaf and blind in the world. Additionally it was compelling to learn about how Elizabeth interacted with the students through interpreters and other methods. One of the main things I learned from this lecture is a lot of the interactions are based on intuition and what seems right for each individual student in the moment. 

With both of these lectures I learned so much about art therapy and how great an impact it can have on someone's life. Access to art for the mentally or physically handicapped, the young or the elderly can improve and change lives for the better. I believe in this even more so since this conference and I hope to pursue a career in Art therapy in which I can bring healing to people in search of peace. 

Savannah Wood
Spring 2019 CSArt Artist Coordinator 

Last month, a group CSArt team members and ceramic students travelled to Minneapolis, Minnesota, to attend NCECA!  This was my first time attending NCECA, so I was very excited for the new experience and inspirations to come.  With this being my last semester as an undergraduate student, I wanted to use this trip to better prepare for graduate school, learn about summer workshop opportunities, and find inspiration to further improve my own work.  I was lucky enough to do all three!
At NCECA, I attended several lectures ranging from the history of tea and teapots to preparing for graduate school.  I also had the joy of representing Clemson University at our booth, telling other students about our art department and my participation in CSArt both as a selected artist and CI member.
The lectures that I attended where extremely insightful, and I tried to visit a wide range of lecture topics so I could take in as much information as possible.  My favorite lecture that I attended was “Pots VS. MFA”, a panel led by John Neely, Margaret Bohls, and John Balistreri.  This panel discussed the difficulty of breaking the norm of focusing on sculptural work as a master’s student, and how one can continue to be a potter while in school.  They gave great advice for new graduate students, being extremely encouraging and supportive of our passion for being potters.  After attending this lecture, I feel more prepared for what graduate school has in store for me. Another lecture that I found particularly interesting was the History of Tea and Teapots, led by Jim Connell.  As a South Carolina native, Jim included several facts about our area in relation to tea production that I did not know about.  He was very enthusiastic, making the lecture light-hearted and inspiring. 
After talking to several different residency and workshop programs, I have decided that I would like to apply for a summer residency or workshop.  The deadlines are steadily approaching, but I was able to learn a lot of great information at the booths, and now I know which programs would work best for me and my vision as an artist.
Overall, I am so beyond thankful that I was able to make the trip to NCECA this year.  I was able to meet the faculty and students at San Diego State University (the school I am attending in the fall), view (and purchase) some amazing artwork, learn about the many opportunities I have as a ceramic artist, prepare for the next steps after graduation, find inspiration through art and lectures, and represent Clemson University all along the way.  I now have so many ideas of what to work on and create next, and I cannot wait to bring these ideas to life in the next few months.  I am so very thankful for Clemson CI for making this trip happen; I now feel more inspired and prepared for the next step in my life.

Katie Francis
Clemson CSArt Spring 2019 Sales

            A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to represent Clemson in Minneapolis for the NCECA (National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts) conference.  We had a table set up in the resource hall of the conference center along with other schools, art centers, and organizations, and we had the chance to talk with people about the art program and opportunities offered at Clemson.  It was a great way to spread the word about Creative Inquiry and what we are doing in CSArt!
            When I was not at our table in the resource hall, I was able to learn about opportunities post-graduation such as graduate programs and residencies all over the country and abroad.  It was a great way to start networking and learning what was out there.  I also got to attend lectures and demonstrations by respected artists.  I attended lectures that covered a broad range of topics such as glaze testing results, business advice, and some history of ceramics.  My favorite lecture was The History of Tea and the Teapot where Jim Connell gave a quick overview of the history of tea in China and how it spread globally and still impacts cultures today.  The demonstrations that I attended were mostly decorative demos where I learned new ways to approach glazing and surface design in my own work. After the conference hall closed, we got to experience the culture and see more of the city by going to different galleries and shows that were held all throughout Minneapolis.  
            NCECA was a great way to learn more about ceramics and network with other schools and programs around the country! I really enjoyed getting to meet so many other people passionate about ceramics and talking about my experiences at Clemson in the art department and as a member of the CSArt team.  Thank you to CI for sponsoring us and giving us this opportunity to further our development as artists!

Marilyn Baughan
Clemson CSArt 2019 Web Design
​BFA Visual Arts '20

The CSArt team has busy the past couple of weeks! Two weeks ago team member Savannah and share artists Marilyn and Katie traveled to Minneapolis with the Ceramics Department for the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. While in Minneapolis we shared our project with potters and artists from around the country! We met with students and faculty from different universities to promote our program. Not only did we get to tell them about our community art share but we were able to hear about what was happening in other ceramic programs. As an extra bonus we were able to see a lot of great artwork, hear from several speakers, and see some demonstrations from visiting artists! Many thanks to the Clemson University Creative Inquiry Program for funding our trip, we are already excited for next year!