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Student Essays

Lukas Easton

&

Will McComb

&

Steven Osterlund

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The following three essays were written by recipients of Studio Potter’s merit award for the National Juried Student Exhibition held during the 2018 National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 14-17. The award includes a one-year subscription to the journal and the opportunity to write an essay on any topic for our Summer/Fall issue.

Lukas Easton. National Priorities, 2017. 5 ft. tall. Cone 10 Stoneware. Photograph by Hollis Engley.

Developing a New Visual Language for Political Ceramics

By Lukas Easton

Over the past few years, and particularly since November 8, 2016, the language of socially engaged ceramic art has changed. Emerging and established artists alike are producing art that explores issues of feminism, minority discrimination, poverty, police brutality, Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ rights, immigration, environment, climate change, and war. The passion and voice of ceramic artists addressing these issues in their work excites and inspires me, but the importance and emotional impact of the message is lost when the work lacks craftsmanship.

As I look at the work from my 2017 BFA exhibition, I struggle with how to continue to make meaningful work that addresses difficult topics. I wonder if the images I carve into my vessels seem too direct and obvious, and question their lasting emotional impact on my audience after the awe wears off. In this age of great political tension, is subtlety the answer, or do these times warrant direct and confrontational visual language? While content is important, without strong formal elements to frame that content, the work risks failing in its primary purpose as art. These concerns have led me to take a hiatus from using imagery on my vessels in order to develop more nuanced ways of communicating through form first. To that end, I am exploring the styles of imagery and form that have the highest emotional impact.

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Author Bio

Lukas Easton

Lukas Easton earned his BFA from the University of Alaska Anchorage and was a Studio Potter merit award recipient at the 2018 National Council on Education for the Ceramics Arts (NCECA) National Juried Student Exhibiton.  Contact him at lukaseastonceramics@gmail.com and follow him on social media @lukaseaston.

Will McComb

Will McComb is a ceramic artist born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky. He earned his bachelor of arts from the University of Kentucky in 2010. In 2015, he began a two-and-a-half-year residency at Lighthouse ArtCenter in Jupiter, Florida, where he additionally studied with wood-fire potter Justin Lambert. Following this residency, McComb relocated to Oxford, Mississippi, where he completed his master of fine arts in studio arts with an emphasis in ceramics at the University of Mississippi in May 2020. After graduating, McComb taught as an adjunct faculty member at the university for two semesters. In June 2021, he returned to Lexington to work for Kentucky Mudworks, developing and manufacturing glazes and clay bodies.
Beyond his formal education, Will has participated in a variety of artist workshops, national clay symposiums, and national juried exhibitions. He and his wife, Stacy, maintain active ceramic studio practices in pottery and jewelry.

willmccomb.com

Steven Osterlund

Steven Osterlund was born in Bellevue, Washington, in 1994. He received his Associates Degree from Palomar Community College, San Marcos, California. Osterlund continued his education at California State University, Chico, studying under professors Cameron Crawford and Susan Whitmore, graduating with his BFA in December of 2017. Contact him at stevenosterlund@gmail.com, and follow him on social media @stevenosterlund.

stevenosterlund.weebly.com

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