San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts

Ceramic Invitational

CLAY TIME IN SAN ANGELO

San Angelo’s April Ceramic events

Every year in mid-April the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, working in conjunction with Angelo State University and the Old Chicken Farm Art Center, sponsors not only a world class ceramic exhibit but also numerous events centered upon art and ceramics. This year’s festivities take place April 16 - 20 and encompass exhibit openings, workshops, a symposium, great art and a mesquite festival, not to mention dining, dancing and plenty of good times.

At Angelo State University ceramics professor Steve Apodaca has organized the exhibit Coffee, Tea, or . . . #5. Located in the Tucker Room, Houston Harte Center, this is an exhibition of cups by ASU beginning ceramic students. The Opening Reception is scheduled for Friday, April 17 from 4:30 - 6 pm. Also on exhibit at ASU is a select group of work by advanced art students, including Esmeralda Muro, Jason Daley, Ashley Dier and Jennifer Combest. Their work will be on display at 193 Gallery in the Robert and Nona Carr Education-Fine Arts Building.

At the Art Museum 3 separate ceramic exhibits will open on Friday night, April 17 from 6 to 9 pm. The exhibits will run through June 28, 2009. The exhibits include Different Directions: Coming Together in Clay; Sparks: The Ceramic Art of Peter Callas; and the 2008 International Orton Cone Box Show. Different Directions is an invitational exhibit featuring the work of Joe Bova of Santa Fe, NM, Sunyong Chung of Austin and Billy Ray Mangham from San Marcos. The Cone Box Show is an exhibition for small work while in Sparks the clay sculptures of renowned artist Peter Callas will be on display.

In addition, many other art openings are planned for Friday night in the downtown area. These include the exhibit Form & Function at the Coop Gallery, located next to the art museum on Oakes Street. Curated by Jim Bob Salazar, ceramics professor at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, the exhibit is a two person show of the work of Salazar and Von Venhuizen, ceramics professor from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. The show is based on contrast and similarity as both artists focus attention on surface treatment and texture though they approach ceramics in different ways: Salazar creates objects designed for use while Venhuizen’s work is non-utilitarian in nature.

A few blocks away at Bonnie Beesley’s Rug Gallery on Chadbourne Street, a trio of artists will be displaying their wares. From San Angelo, Doug Oertli will show his latest ceramic artwork in the classic forms of the Mediterranean. From Boerne, a husband and wife team will present a spring exhibit featuring the latest work of ceramic artist Gus McCloskey and fresh flower arrangements by Hisayo McCloskey. Inspired by Japanese pottery, Gus interprets the traditions in a new spirit creating useful works of art. Hisayo adds a spring touch to the vases with her highly original flower compositions.

This year will also feature a Tent Bazaar located at the corner of Chadbourne and Concho, with a variety of artist booths as well as entertainment and food. As a change of pace to the many ceramic exhibits the Texas Mesquite Art Festival --San Angelo -- will be held at Fort Concho, with over 50 members of the Texas Mesquite Association showcasing their work. Crafted from the native Texas mesquite wood, and including everything from furniture to musical instruments, it is the largest collection of mesquite art in the world.

Furthermore, many downtown businesses will stay open for the Friday night events and a trolley will be running all evening to assist visitors in getting around, from the art museum to Fort Concho to downtown.

On Saturday another group of art happenings will take place at the Chicken Farm Art Center located at 2505 Martin Luther King Boulevard. Roger Allen’s Starkeeper Gallery will showcase the work of visiting artists Randy Brodnax and Gary Huntoon, both potters from Dallas, as well as Allen’s own work. The Gecko Gallery located in the complex behind the Art Center will feature the work of Angela Gallia, who has been working in clay since the mid 1980s. She currently maintains a private studio in Dallas and will be displaying her colorful, hand-built ceramic work.

In Studio One Gallery two San Angelo artists have teamed up in the exhibit Parallels: Clay/Paper. The exhibit combines the paintings on paper by John Mattson with the clay sculpture of Linda Gossett as the two artists see parallels in the imagery they use, though in different media. At the Vicki Hardin Studio the 2009 Kiln God National will be on display. A Kiln God originally was a good luck object that ceramic artists would put in the kiln to protect their wares during firing. This exhibition of Kiln Gods is a show that features small clay sculpture and will be juried this year by visiting artist Billy Ray Mangham. The galleries and shops at the Chicken Farm will be open all afternoon into the evening when the day culminates with a great Bar-B-Que dinner at the Chicken Farm followed by music by the Darren Morrison band and dancing under the stars.

In addition to the many exhibits, a number of ceramic workshops will be held in between all the other events. Among them is a kiln building workshop led by Randy Brodnax, art instructor at Cedar Valley College in Lancaster, Texas. The workshop will commence on Thursday afternoon, April 16 from 1 to 6 pm, continue on Friday and finish on Saturday with a kiln opening. Participants will cut, weld, fabricate, and fire the kilns. The cost for the Randy Brodnax Workshop is $25 per person. On Friday morning, April 17, from 8 till 10 am Ty Brunson will conduct a workshop at the Angelo State University Ceramic labs located adjacent to the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts. Brunson, Associate Professor of Art at Arkansas Tech University, will cover low-fire saggar and fuming processes combined with horse hair firing on terrasigillata coated vessels. He will discuss and demonstrate the terrasigillata process and also demonstrate the firing and post firing manipulation of their surfaces. There is no charge for this workshop and all are invited to attend.

The three artists from the exhibit Different Directions: Coming Together in Clay will each lead a day-long workshop at the Chicken Farm Art Center on Saturday, April 18. The workshop starts at 9 am and continues till 4 pm with an hour break for lunch at noon. Each of the 3 artists will demonstrate their individual work and techniques. The cost for this workshop is $45 ($25 for full time students).

Two other events round out the event-packed two-day affair that is known as “Ceramics Week.” A Ceramic Symposium, hosted by Angelo State University, takes place on Friday afternoon from 1:30 to 4:30 at the Robert and Nona Carr Education-Fine Arts Building on campus. The panelists this year include the invited artists Joe Bova, Sunyong Chung and Billy Ray Mangham as well as artist Peter Callas and Professor Inge Balch, who curates and organizes the International Orton Cone Box Show. Each panelist will make a presentation to the audience, either about their individual work and careers or about the field of ceramic art. After the presentation there is brief break followed by questions and a conversation with the audience. Art Museum Director Howard Taylor acts as moderator.

The final event takes place on Monday, April 20 at 12 noon at the Art Museum. Roger Allen, owner of the Chicken Farm Art Center, will lead guests on a tour of all the ceramic exhibits offering commentary on the work and answering questions.

All events are free and open to the public excluding the Saturday night Barbecue Dinner ($15), the Saturday day-long Workshop ($45), and the Randy Brodnax Workshop ($25). To register for any of the workshops or for more information call the museum at 653-3333.

The museum is supported by generous contributions from both individuals and businesses. This project is partially supported by funds from the San Angelo Cultural Affairs Council, the City of San Angelo, the Texas Commission on the Arts, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.