The U of M school of art is showcasing Low Fired Forms, an exhibition running from March 5 to 12 in the School of Art Student Gallery.
This exhibit showcases the innovative use of locally sourced clay in contemporary ceramics.
The Low Fired Forms exhibit stems from a ceramics class led by professor Grace Nickel in the fall 2024 term. The class focused on low-fire ceramics and local materials.
For this class, Nickel helped students harvest raw clay directly from the university’s grounds at an ongoing construction site to create their pieces. Students then manually processed the harvested material, breaking it down with tools like a hammer, mortar and pestle and wood.
One of the participating students, Emma Gillich, expressed the difficulties of working with natural materials.
“Harvesting and making sure the local materials were actually usable as a clay form was really difficult,” she said.
“It was a really arduous process, so really physical. There’s a lot of safety concerns that we had to think about.”
The exhibition features the work of 11 different students that came together thanks to one of Gillich’s classmates.
Low Fired Forms shows off a diverse array of ceramic works, from vases that blend ancient Greek designs with modern themes, to dishware that comments on traditional place settings.
Gillich also noted that the exhibit is a way for her and her classmates to showcase their creations from the previous semester.
“We feel it’s a very unrepresented part of ceramics,” she said, referencing the use of natural materials and low-fire methods.
Students used techniques like hand-building, wheel throwing and mold-making to transform the local clay into unique art pieces.
Gillich said that she crafted a series of three nesting bowls using the pinch pot method. She said her approach was a good way to make sure that the clay did not crack during the firing process.
This exhibition is organized by students in collaboration with the Student Art Curatorial Selection Committee, which provides a platform for emerging artists to present their work.
During the winter 2025 term, various student exhibitions will rotate through the gallery from March 5 to June 4.
The Low Fired Form exhibition is on now at the School of Art Student Gallery, open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday, at 158 Taché Arts Complex. A reception for the event is scheduled for Tuesday, March 11 at 3 p.m. For more information, visit umanitoba.ca/art/student-gallery.
