New studio gives WVU Ceramics Dept. year-round distribution

The West Virginia University Ceramics Department's biannual Holiday Pottery Sale will no longer be one of the few times allotted for the public to view WVU students' and staff's handcrafted ceramics, according to Christopher Brown, a research associate in the department.

Brown has been involved with these Holiday Pottery Sales for the past nine years and is excited to announce at this weekend's sale the development of a brand new studio that will now allow the distribution and production of pottery all year round.

The department has hosted its Holiday Pottery Sale following each semester for the past 15 years, and with growing popularity, it has steadily increased its sales revenue between 20 and 25 percent per year, according to Brown.

As opposed to the studio the WVU ceramics students have used in the past, which Brown compares to the space of a two-car garage, the students will now have access to a 2,000-square-foot studio alongside a 700-square-foot retail gallery for production.

Made possible through a three-year research grant, the WVU Ceramics Department will soon be able to start working in its new off-campus studio located on Baker's Ridge Road near University High School.

Although Brown is excited about the rising opportunity, he admits this semester's Holiday Pottery Sale will be selling fewer products than usual and will only last two days, as opposed to the usual three.

"This year, it's going to be a lot smaller because we have dedicated so much of our time and energy to setting up the new studio," Brown said. "But the work we're exhibiting is just as good if not better than in the past – just not as much."

However, with the promise of the upcoming studio, which plans to sell the WVU students' and staff's "food-safe functioning ceramics" Monday through Friday year-round, the Ceramics Department has nothing to worry about.

"Our goal is to produce and distribute ceramics in a nice and clean environment all year long," Brown said. "We are displaying WVU students' and faculty's own artistic expression, and we are doing it in an efficient way at a reasonable price."

The bulk of this weekend's Holiday Pottery Sale items will be in the price range of $10 to $70 and will include exhibits from visiting artist Jennifer Alan and a unique Guatemalan coffee/craft show hosted by the Morgantown Rotary Club, whose proceeds will support the Guatemalan area.

The WVU Ceramics Department is a self-supporting entity and is no stranger to helping out local organizations. All of the proceeds from this weekend's holiday sale will go directly back into the department and will help fund student scholarships, hotels for conferences, visiting artists and the University's study abroad program based in Jingdezhen, China.

Brown believes that the new studio atmosphere will prepare students for real-world experiences, and claims the Ceramics Department at WVU is one of the few programs that is so dedicated to developing these skills.

"We are one of the few programs in America that are using semi-industrial products to help students prepare for realistic jobs," Brown said. "We are exposing students and allowing them to talk openly to the general public about their work and techniques – if they plan to do this after graduation, it's a skill they need to develop."

Brett Kern, a WVU grad student working on his MFA in ceramics, will be the acting president of the WVU ceramics club and is excited about the opportunities that the new studio will bring.

"Because we have so much more space, we are able to have bigger machines like a ram press, which allows us to make a lot of pieces in a short time," Kern said. "Before, everything was cramped, and we couldn't concentrate, and now we are just in a lot better atmosphere with less distractions."

The WVU Holiday Pottery Sale will be Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the WVU Creative Arts Center in the Douglas O. Blaney Lobby.