One of the reasons Lily Lund and Carter Pasma enjoy being ceramicists — ceramic artists — is the ability to create something either functional, decorative or both that makes a statement.
“The drive is making art that really affects people,” Lund said.
The UW-Stout studio art-ceramics majors recently had the opportunity to see and hear about the impact of their art and will have two more chances in the coming weeks. They:
- Presented their senior show in mid-March at Gallery 209 in UW-Stout’s Applied Arts Building
- Will be part of the UW-Stout exhibit Monday through Saturday, March 25-30, at the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts event in the Twin Cities
- Will be part of UW-Stout’s School to Market booth at the American Craft Council show Thursday to Sunday, April 4-7, at the RiverCentre in St. Paul. The booth will include work by metals and contemporary art jewelry students.
The NCECA exhibit is at Caufield Clay Works, 2242 University Ave. W. No. 150, in St. Paul. It features five UW-Stout students; faculty members Kate Maury and Geoffrey Wheeler; and 13 alumni ranging from 2002 to 2018 graduates. An opening reception will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, March 28. Exhibit hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Exhibit organizers also are alumni, Amanda Dobratz, 2002, and Chad Steve, 2008.
The exhibit is part of an art tour for the NCECA’s 53rd annual conference, Claytopia, March 27-30 at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
At Caufield Clay Works, Lund will exhibit a vase and two platters. Pasma will exhibit a flower basket, an oil bottle and a pitcher with three cups. “This is a really big opportunity for us. So many people will see our work, so it will be a good way to market ourselves,” Lund said.
Lund and Pasma are a little more than a month away — they graduate Saturday, May 4 — from launching their careers as artists, so they are appreciating the chances to show what they’ve learned, to do some networking and to sell some of their pieces.
More importantly, however, they are excited to use their new skills in the professional world.
“I feel like I’m not done learning because there’s no way to perfect art,” said Pasma, of White Bear Lake, Minn. “The experience at UW-Stout has left me wanting to know more as an artist.”
“I’m really thankful for the experience I had here as an artist, and I feel very prepared to leave,” said Lund, of Buffalo, Minn.
While both plan to become artisans and sell their work, they also plan to get their Master of Fine Arts degrees and will consider teaching at some point in their careers. In the near future, Lund is exploring art residency opportunities while Pasma is looking in to postbaccalaureate options at graduate schools.
Their Gallery 209 show featured more than 100 examples of their best ceramic work. Their selections were divided by a wall to develop a sense of interaction within the space, with Lund’s side featuring furniture.
“When placing my work around the gallery in this set-up of a home, I was able to create a space where it became personal and what we refer to as a home — how my work creates this feeling of a home, a personal home,” Lund said.
“We want people to touch our work and experience it,” Pasma said. “We tried to show everyday objects, like pitchers, jugs and mugs and special objects but that are all functional.”
They spent about six weeks preparing for the Gallery 209 exhibit, including nights in the ceramics lab until 2 a.m. “It was exhausting – kind of a whirlwind but an exciting experience,” Pasma said.
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Photos
Lily Lund and Carter Pasma, studio art-ceramics majors at UW-Stout, exhibited their work recently at Gallery 209 in the Applied Arts Building.
A butter dish created by UW-Stout student Lily Lund.
