If you’re in Los Angeles this month, check out the Craft in America Study Center to view work from the Ceramics Department. Join Cary Esser, Ceramics Department Chair and Alum for the opening reception.

Andrea Martin, "Lapware"

Andrea Martin, 2007 alum from the department, came to demonstrate her techniques and talk with students these past few weeks. She is a recent MA Design graduate from Central Saint Martins College of Art in London where she designed and fabricated her new line of dishes, Lapware. These ceramic vessels are formed to fit to the contours of the user’s body. They evoke warmth and familiarity, while referencing the shiny, cold, white surfaces of sanitary ceramics.

Recent KCAI alumni get jobs, go to graduate schools and attend residencies.

Robert Wetherington is studio manager at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Robert Wetherington

Calder Kamin is gallery director of Red Star Studios in Kansas City, Missouri.

Calder Kamin

Casey Whittier is attending the MFA program at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Casey Whittier

Korla Luckeroth is attending the MFA program at the University of Minnesota.

Korla Luckeroth

Timo Fahler is attending the MFA program at UCLA.

Timo Fahler

Lauren Mabry is currently enrolled at the MFA program at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

Lauren Mabry

Tara Polansky is in the MFA program at Ohio State University.

Tara Polanskty

Scott Rosenberg is in the MFA program at the University of South Florida.

Bowie Croisant is a resident at Red Star Studios in Kansas City, Missouri.

Bowie Croisant

Tyra Forker is a resident artist at the Armory Art Center in Florida.

Tyra Forker

Molly Jones is a resident artist with John Glick at Plum Tree Pottery.

Molly Jones

 Daniel Teran is a resident artist at Pottery Northwest in Seattle, Washington.

Daniel Teran

This summer, Sean O’Connell was the 2009 Salad Days Artist at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts.

Sean O'Connell

Julie Malen has joined the Urban Culture Project in Kansas City.

Julie Malen

Paul Storms is with the KC Clay Guild.

Paul Storms

Gabriel Reed is with the JET program, teaching English in Japan.

Gabriel Reed

Last spring we were privileged to have the talented and admirable crew from Craft in America join us here at the KCAI Ceramics Department.  The episode, airing Oct. 7 on PBS, will be entitled “Process.”   The two-hour show will air nationally, including from 7 to 9 p.m. CT on KCPT, Kansas City Public Television. The second hour of the program includes a 10-minute segment about the strength of the KCAI ceramics program and features interviews with Cary Esser (’78 ceramics), chair of the department; Professor George Timock; Victor Babu, retired professor, and several KCAI students and alumni.

Craft in America will soon have a virtual exhibition up on their website. Click here to check it out.

The website also lists links to descriptions, photos and video footage of both KCAI students and faculty.
Click to view George Timock, Cary Esser, and students Liz Largent and Mihwa Im in action!

Bauble, 2006

Rain Harris will be joining us here in the studio to demonstrate, critique and give a lecture about her work this week. It’s all a part of KCAI’s free weekly lecture series, “Current Perspectives” at 7 p.m., September 24 in Epperson Auditorium. Rain was last with us in the spring for critiques. We appreciate her feedback!

Korla Luckeroth

Laura Blumenberg

Hello there, Laura Blumenberg here. Our former talented blog hostess, Korla Luckeroth, has moved on to bigger and better things. She’s gone north to the graduate program at the University of Minnesota. We’ll miss you, Korla – good luck!
Meanwhile, I’ll be keeping you all up to date on the goings-on of Kansas City Art Institute Ceramics Department.
It’s going to be a really interesting and exciting semester, so stay tuned.

Misty demonstrating in Fall, 2008

Misty Gamble has returned to fill the spot of sculpture instructor while Cary Esser is away on sabbatical. Misty is just back from her residency at the Armory Art Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. You can learn more about Misty at her web page www.mistygamble.com

Misty is currently instructing juniors on the craft of tile making while teaching the finer points of both studio and professional practice to this year’s seniors. We’re excited to have her back!

Over the course of a week in February, Craft in America came to Kansas City and filmed a segment at the Kansas City Art Institute for their upcoming episode titled Process.  The episode will be aired as part of the Craft in America series and can be seen on Public Television. The film crew documented scenes of life in the studio as well as interviews with individual students, George Timock, and retired professor Victor Babu. While in Kansas City, Craft in America filmed the studio and processes of Cary Esser, the chair of the department.

For more information you can visit the official Craft in America website at http://www.craftinamerica.org/?.

Thermal Shock, the 2009 spring semester exhibition, showcased the hard-won pieces of the Ceramics Department. As always, this time of year was stressful, but the show went off without a hitch. All the undergraduates were able to see the fruits of their labor exhibited, some for the first time.

Here’s a little taste. Enjoy!

Jen Woodin, who recieved her MFA in Ceramics from the University of Oregon and her undergraduate degree in engineering from Cal State University, Chico, came to KCAI in February and gave an informative talk about her work.  She was also available to give critiques to interested students in the ceramic department.  Woodin recently received a six-month artist-in-residence award from the International Ceramic Research Center in Skaelskor, Denmark. She is currently teaching at Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver and is the artist/designer in residence there for school year 2008-09. Her current works explore the empathic connection between the vocabulary of industrial plumbing and human anatomy through the use of mass-produced porcelain objects.

digital image for a sculpture, Rhino software

basin, two views, porcelain and steel

vinyl plexiglass drawing