April 8 - June 26, 2022
From the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts:
“The San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts is pleased to announce the Opening Reception of the Twenty-Fourth San Angelo National Ceramic Competition on Friday, April 8, 2022 from 5 to 8 pm at the museum. The National Ceramic Competition is a juried exhibit that features work from leading ceramic artists as well as undiscovered new talent from across North America. The San Angelo Museum Endowment for Ceramic Events sponsors the event with additional support provided by Darlene and John Williams of Dallas, Angelo State University and The Old Chicken Farm Art Center. In addition to the opening at the Art Museum, other events in nearby locations will take place Friday night as part of Downtown Stroll, with a shuttle bus available to transport visitors to the different venues.
The National Ceramic Competition has been held in San Angelo since 1986, taking place annually until 1996 and then every two years after that. It is a cooperative event carried out by the Art Museum, the Department of Visual and Performing Arts at Angelo State University and the Old Chicken Farm Art Center. April 8 – 10 are packed with ceramic art events held at all 3 locations, including a symposium at Angelo State University and a day-long workshop at the Old Chicken Farm Art Center. A complete list of events can be found on the museum’s website: www.samfa.org/ceramic-competition.
SAMFA is honored and delighted to have as juror for the 2022 Competition James Watkins, Paul Whitfield Horn Professor Emeritus from Texas Tech University. Watkins is a ceramic artist who has worked with clay for over 40 years, and whose work is held in multiple prestigious permanent collections, including the White House Collection of American Crafts. Watkin was a 2005 Senior Fulbright Scholar, teaching in Vietnam at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture. In 2019, he was awarded the HCCC Texas Master Award by the Houston Center of Contemporary Craft. Watkins is the author and co-author of several authoritative books, including (with Paul Andrew Wandless) Alternative Kilns and Firing Techniques, which has been translated into Chinese and German, and he has written numerous articles for national and international magazines, including Ceramics Monthly, Studio Potter, New Ceramics: The European Ceramics Magazine, and China Ceramic Artist. For each San Angelo National Ceramic Competition, a noted ceramic artist is asked to display a small focus exhibit, which highlights the artist’s work, within the larger competition. This year SAMFA is pleased to have veteran ceramicist Andrea Gill of Alfred, New York, as our Invited Artist. Gill began her ceramic art career in 1971 as an apprentice to a local potter in Cape Cod, Mass., after she had graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a B.F.A. in painting. She continued her ceramics education at the Kansas City Art Institute, where she met her husband, John Gill, and later joined him in Alfred, N.Y., entering the ceramics M.F.A. program in 1974. They went on to share a residency at the Archie Bray Foundation, and for the next five years, Andrea Gill exhibited her work around the world. In 1984, the Gills returned to Alfred to share a teaching position. She retired from teaching in 2016, and has continued making and exhibiting her work internationally. Her work is in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institute, and other public and private collections. She has received numerous grants, including NEA Individual Artist Grants, and fellowships from the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, Archie Bray Foundation and American Craft Council. In 2019, she received the Distinguished Educator Award from the Renwick Alliance. She is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics. San Angelo’s “Ceramics Weekend” begins Thursday afternoon, April 7, at 1 pm at the Old Chicken Farm Art Center, with a workshop by Randy Brodnax. Brodnax has been leading workshops at San Angelo’s ceramic weekend for many years, and this year he will once again lead participants in a workshop of raku and alternative firing techniques and throwing thin on the wheel. Participants will build and fire the kilns. Work will continue on Friday, and Saturday will be a kiln opening. Participants are encouraged to bring bisque work to glaze and fire. The fee for the workshop is $25.00 per person. Friday morning, April 8, at 9 a.m., a ceramic workshop by Horacio Casillas will be held at the Concho Clay Studio located adjacent to the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts. Casillas will be demonstrating how to make a slab-built cylindrical vase, along with his process for transferring designs and carving techniques. There is no charge and the public is invited to attend. The workshop will run until 11:30 a.m.
Friday’s activities continue with the Thirty-Seventh Annual Ceramic Symposium which will be held from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Carr Education-Fine Arts building on the campus of Angelo State University, in room 101. The Ceramic Symposium is co-sponsored by Angelo State University, the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, and The Old Chicken Farm Art Center. Panelists for the Symposium will be Competition Juror James Watkins, Invited Artist Andrea Gill, and also Horacio Casillas, who has an exhibit in ASU’s Gallery 193, down the hall from the Symposium. Howard Taylor, Director of the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, will serve as moderator. The first part of the Symposium will consist of Watkins discussing his choices for the show and Gill and Casillas discussing their work. After a break for refreshments, the final session will be an open forum with the audience. Friday culminates with the Opening Reception of the 24th San Angelo National Ceramic Competition at the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts (1 Love Street, San Angelo, TX 76903), from 5 to 8 p.m. The Competition Juror and the Invited Artist will be present at the Opening and the prizewinners will be announced. Numerous other artists who are participants in the exhibit will also be on hand to meet the public and converse about their work. Refreshments and live music will be provided. There is no charge for the opening and the public is invited to attend. Exhibited artwork will be on sale the night of the opening and throughout the length of the exhibition. The exhibit will remain on display through June 26, 2022. Downtown San Angelo will be alive with activity on Friday evening, because in addition to the exhibit opening at SAMFA, many other venues will hold special exhibits, including the galleries on Oakes Street and other venues participating in Downtown Stroll. From 5 to 8 p.m. a shuttle bus will be running between all the venues, so those attending to leave their cars parked at the museum and be transported to and from all locations.
Ceramics Weekend continues on Saturday, April 9th, at the Old Chicken Farm Art Center located at 2505 Martin Luther King Boulevard. From 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Invited Artist Andrea Gill will conduct a day-long demonstration workshop, discussing and demonstrating her techniques, materials and process. The workshop is $45 ($25 for full time students with valid ID). On Saturday the artists’ studios at the Old Chicken Farm Art Center will also be open. On Saturday evening, guests, visitors and participants can all partake of the Texas Barbecue Dinner, a long-standing tradition of the Ceramics Weekend. The Barbecue Dinner starts at 7 p.m. and costs $17 per person. Musical entertainment will also be on hand. Information on all events can be obtained by calling SAMFA at 325-653-3333 or visiting www.samfa.org/ceramic-competition.
The San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. Admission is currently free. In order to protect the health and safety of staff and visitors, everyone is recommended to wear a mask or fabric face covering inside the museum, and to keep at least 6 feet apart from others. Sponsors for the National Ceramic Competition are: San Angelo Museum Endowment for Ceramic Events, Darlene and John Williams, Trinity Ceramic Supply, and the San Angelo Cultural Affairs Council. SAMFA is supported by generous contributions from both individuals and businesses. This project is also partially supported by funds from the Texas Commission on the Arts, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.”
Reception: April 8, 2022 | 5–8 pm
San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts - SAMFA
1 Love Street
San Angelo, 76903 TX
325.653.3333
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