NCECA 2015 was an incredible whirlwind. There's something indescribable about suddenly finding yourself in the midst of hundreds of people who share your passions and know exactly what you're talking about when you say the cup you're holding was fired in an Anagama kiln. The ceramics community never ceases to amaze me; people are so supportive of each other, and so willing to share their knowledge and I was very eager to observe and learn. 

Something that sparked my interest in particular was a pop-up gallery inside of a moving truck that CSArt Member, Hannah and I stumbled upon while wandering around the Rhode Island School of Design. The various creative ways ceramic artists find to display their artwork is so fascinating to me and has certainly influenced how I've thought about promoting myself outside of school. 
Check it out!

Along with the pop-up galleries, the featured NCECA galleries located at the Rhode Island School of Design were another favorite of mine. Much of the work I saw helped me understand ways I could further push my own work, and seeing what other undergraduate students are working on at other schools is always a nice reference point. 
Here are some images of the RISD galleries!

NCECA 2015 was an invaluable experience that I feel helped me grow significantly as an artist in three short days. I was able to see the work of multiple artists at various stages in their careers and experience the largest ceramics community I've ever been a part of. These are the experiences I believe are most important in a student's career and I am so thankful that the CSArt Creative Inquiry allowed me to have this opportunity. 

-Hallie Shafer
Fall 2014 CSArt Team Member

Upon returning from NCECA and the enchanting New England city of Providence, there is much to reflect on. While sitting behind the single bright orange table that could be found, I did not expect how energizing it would be to share my passion for my local ceramics community and CSArt. As a marketing major, it was surprising how natural it felt to take what I have learned from the past three years in the classroom and use those skills to sell something that I am enthusiastic about - the Clemson Art Department and Community Supported Art! 

During my wanderings around the city, I found myself drawing inspiration from everything that I happened to stumble upon. As a marketing team member, I look forward to taking these inspirations and experiences and utilizing them to continue to better serve you as a community member through CSArt!

-Hannah Hunt
 CSArt Team Member

NCECA 2015  [National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts] is in Providence, RI this year, and it's been amazing. The ceramic work here is incredible, the demonstrations by professional ceramicists are super interesting and helpful, and the lectures are inspiring and challenging. What has struck me the most is Roberto Lugo's emerging artist talk. It gave me chills, brought me to tears, made me laugh, and challenged me to consider the power that I have as a ceramic artist to make a difference. Lugo is not an ordinary ceramicist, describing himself as, “potter, activist, culture-maker, rapper, poet and educator.”  I could go on talking about him and his work for hours, but I'll let him do that for me. 
Watch his video below! 

Incredible, right? Here are some of my particular favorites of his works below. Check out more at his website: http://robertolugostudio.com/ and get inspired. 

Roberto Lugo has sparked a fire in the ceramic community here at NCECA, and I know I am personally ready to bring that drive, passion, and ambition back to Clemson and to our community here. 
SPOILER ALERT! 
While the CSArt team is busily working on the current share, we are also planning the upcoming shares! For this upcoming share, we have been inspired by the "STEM to STEAM" initiative championed by Rhode Island School of Design. This initiative seeks to put Art and Design in their place of importance in a time when innovation is most needed in our society. Frustratingly, "innovation remains tightly coupled with Science, Technology, Engineering and Math – the STEM subjects. Art + Design are poised to transform our economy in the 21st century just as science and technology did in the last century. We need to add Art + Design to the equation — to transform STEM into STEAM." (http://stemtosteam.org/). 
In hopes of Clemson University adopting this movement as many institutions, corporations, and individuals around the nation are doing, we are basing our next share theme off of this. 
Details will be announced upcoming, so stay tuned, but in the spirit of Lugo's empowering talk, I just had to let you know how Clemson CSArt is striving to empower not only ceramic artists, but artists and innovators everywhere. Art can make a real, tangible difference. 

Thank you Roberto Lugo for your inspiring talk and your incredible passion and heart. 
- Brittany Wilund 

Our inaugural, Fall 2014 season of Clemson CSArt was successfully brought to a close! Pictured above are the Fall 2014 artists (from left to right) Hallie Shafer, Brittany Wilund, Molly Fitz, Allison Rupprecht, Hannah Miller and Lindsey Elsey.  See below for a sample of our Fall 2014 Clemson CSArt share pieces & artists.