Ceramics on Parade
The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art will be displaying an extensive collection of fine art ceramic pieces in commemoration of the 20th anniversary celebration this year.
Utah State University’s museum will be displaying a wide variety of extravagant and historical art pieces ranging from the 1920s to the present.
The museum contains studio ceramics and pottery artwork from the Western United States which incorporates a sense of culture and authenticity in its creative display. The total collection contains 1,250 pieces, more than 200 of which will be on display in the museum.
“The exhibit includes a little something for everyone — from a fantastic teapot that looks like a cactus to wheel-thrown vases three feet tall,” said Victoria Rowe, interim director of the museum.
One of USU’s favorite techniques is known as the woodfire process.
“Woodfiring is definitely fun; it’s a lot more work than the usual method of firing,” said Stephanie Holmgren, a junior majoring in ceramic art and the president of the Ceramic Guild.
Woodfiring was started by John Neely, a USU art department professor, in 1984. It incorporates the use of firing the pieces in special kilns and using wood to promote clouding and smoking effects on the ceramics, instead of the traditional use of fossil fuels and coal. There are currently three outdoor woodfiring kilns at the university, said Brian Taylor, a junior majoring in ceramic art.
According to press information from the museum, the integration of this distinctive process has brought much attention and praise to the art department at USU, and it has been incorporated into other pieces around the world.
The gallery is named after a dedicated patron of the ceramic and visual arts, Nora Eccles Treadwell Harrison. Harrison was a ceramic artist herself, as well as a collector of ceramic works. Her works started the collection that remains today at USU as a unique collection.
This collection was inspired by the devotion and efforts of the Archie Bray Foundation.
“The Bray” was established in the early 1950s as a simple group of artists in Helena, Mont. who wanted to provide a nurturing setting for which local potters and artists could feel free to explore their craft unthreatened, according to press information.
“The strength of our ceramics gallery is in the quality and variety of expression based upon form, shape and surface design,” Rowe said. “With more than 200 ceramic works on display, this is a unique opportunity to see so many vessels at one time. We invite all to come and explore the beauty and creativity that this exhibit reveals.”
The museum is open on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from noon until 5 p.m.
–karalcam@cc.usu.edu
More than 200 pieces of fine art are on display in the Fine Arts Museum in commemoration of its 20th anniversary celebration. (Photos by Cory Hill)