November 20, 2006

Art students to showcase work at ceramics show

by Sun Min

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts Conference will showcase the work of students at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The University's ceramics program is one of seven regional graduate programs that will participate in the event set for March in Louisville, Ky."This exhibition is a great opportunity to highlight the work of our graduate students and to bring attention to the ceramic art program at SIUC," said Pattie A. Chalmers, assistant professor of ceramics in the School of Art and Design, part of the College of Liberal Arts. With their art, the students will fill a 1,100-square-foot space at the conference. More than 5,000 art professionals and students from across the world will get a chance to view the exhibits.

"This is wonderful recognition of the quality of our graduate ceramics program and a great opportunity for the students to showcase their work to an international audience," said Harris Deller, director of the School of Art and Design.

At the beginning of the spring semester, Chalmers and Deller will select students whose work will best represent the creative activity and research of the school.

Deller recently returned from a two-month residency program at the Pottery Workshop in Jingdezhen, China. Jingdezhen is located southwest of Shanghai in Jiangxi Province and is known in China as the "Porcelain Capital" with a 1,000-year tradition of producing China's finest porcelain pottery and sculpture.

Achieving excellence in undergraduate and graduate education is among the goals of Southern at 150: Building Excellence Through Commitment, the blueprint for the development of the University by the time it celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2019.