Ceramic Art Guild is calling all ceramic art lovers at the visual arts building today from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the annual Cup and Bowl Sale featuring various works created by UW ceramic artists.
“This is the most popular kind of sale that we do,” Margaret K. Haydon, ceramics professor in the art department said. “The pieces you know it’s a student work. So, they are reasonably priced. But they are really good potters, they make beautiful work so will be a lot of good work there. This sale just got bigger and bigger and better and better.”
The program helps to raise funds for ceramic art students for all the expenses to the National Council for Education in the Ceramic Arts trip.
NCECA is an annual conference held every year in different parts of the U.S. that brings not only national ceramics artists, also known as the people of the mud, but also international talents as well.
“Every year, in a city, this giant conference happens and what we call ‘the people of the mud’ like the clay people, descend on this one city and there is a panel and discussions and a sharing of information and technological stuff,” Haydon said.
During the four-day conference, the selected city’s galleries will all be taken over by the people of the mud, showcasing their art and technologies used to make the art.
“We are sending 10 [students] to Pittsburgh and last year we sent 14 to Portland, Oregon,” Haydon said. “I think the year before that, Kansas City, we had something like 15 and 16.”
For the NCECA trip, all travel, as well as living expenses for each student, gets covered by the funds raised from the Cup and Bowl Sale as well as from the Fall Art Sale. The CAG Cup and Bowl sale is running in its 29th year and was started by Mary Jane Edwards, who was then a chair of the art department and also a founding member of NCECA.
“I have a lot of different carving that I am really excited about, just been like messing around. I am excited to see what everyone else has.”-UW post-baccalaureate student Naomi Peterson
“They are exposed to more information, look at various tools and equipment, they get to bump shoulders with other students from all over the country,” Haydon said.
The ceramics vary in price and size. A highly decorated bowl touches the maximum price of $100 while the simpler and smaller ones go for a couple of dollars.
UW post-baccalaureate student Naomi Peterson has made up to 100 cups and 20 to 30 bowls for this year’s sale.
“Each piece takes maybe an hour process-wise, and then all the time carving it and stuff like that,” Peterson said. “And then you have to dry it and then you have to fire it and then you glaze it and then you fire it again. So, its several weeks in the making usually.”
This event is known to be the most successful sale event since a lot of people get to the venue early and will grab the art they like as soon as possible.
“We will be completely out of stuff by like 11 and so you know we are trying to keep that number going higher and higher so that we have more stuff,” Peterson said.
Ceramic artists also provide a free cup of coffee and a free bowl of soup with each cup or bowl people buy.
“I have a lot of different carving that I am really excited about, just been like messing around. I am excited to see what everyone else has,” Peterson said.
Kade Greer, UW BFA in art education with an emphasis in ceramics, said. “I love the cup and bowl sale. It’s a great time for our guild to give back to the community with functional ware. I probably just have 20 or 30 [cups and bowls]. I have a range, a couple of big ones and a quiet bit of small ones. But if I like the big one too much I usually keep them, hopefully, I find a way to give them away.”
