Ceramics Archives - BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications

Art Student Janna Siebert’s Clay Creations Shape Lives and Hearts

Noelle Barrus — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 17:14:03 +0000

Master of Fine Arts student uses sculptures to teach and testify of Jesus Christ Diatoms are tiny organisms found in oceans and waterways that can only be seen when blown up by a microscope — or when an artist creates clay versions to fit in the palm of your hand. “Diatoms are the biggest oxygen producers in the world, producing 30 percent of our oxygen, or three out of ten breaths you take,” said Master of Fine Arts student Janna Siebert. Siebert showcased her artwork focused on diatoms in a recent exhibit titled “Beauty and Decay,” where she created a sensory experience for viewers. “Once the exhibition is installed I give the evolution of the work to the audience,” she said. “I don’t normally want people to walk away from my art with anything specific. I see myself as a conduit. I provide an environment where art is curated carefully so the viewer’s experiences can be independent, enriched and unique to them.” Siebert became interested in using clay after her son took a ceramics class. “The repetition and ongoing investigation keeps me in the studio,” she said. “It has been a beautiful and rewarding journey, one that grants me amazing grace and gratitude.” Through her experiences making clay art, Siebert has found spiritual connections to her work. “I have found the lessons from working with clay to be almost parable-like,” said Siebert. “As long as we try our best and reach the potential that we were born to develop, we have fulfilled our purposes.” Not only is Siebert a student, but she is also a teacher. As a graduate student, Siebert teaches introductory ceramics courses for non-majors. Siebert wants the students she teaches to know that the humble lump of clay in their hands is of “noble birth with amazing potential, just like them.” “Because no one is exempt from trials and challenges in this life, I tell the students how porcelain, the strongest clay body, would slump a little bit in the kiln as the temperature is nearing the mature temperature,” said Siebert. “I let them know at this stage the porcelain (I compare different clay bodies to us) is screaming for relief, but the potter who knows all things is standing watching outside of the kiln encouraging, ‘just hold on a little longer, I know what you can become’ just as Christ would.” Siebert is working on new large-scale installation projects and is striving to do her part in helping others feel God’s love through her art. She will finish her MFA in art at the end of this semester in April 2021.

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Department Of Art Faculty Connect With Local Educators In First Of New Workshop Series

Anelise Leishman — Fri, 28 Feb 2020 18:41:27 +0000

The on-campus workshop series resumes in June, with instruction in drawing, intaglio printmaking, mixed media monotyping and screenprinting At the center of a circle of local art teachers, BYU ceramics studio manager James Robertson sat at a wheel demonstrating how to teach students to form a clay cylinder with uniform thickness — no easy task for first-time ceramicists. “I ask everyone who is a beginner, ‘what is something you’re really good at?’” said Robertson. “It could be a musical instrument, a sport or even video games. When you started, were you really good? No. But did you spend a lot of time practicing it? That’s what this takes.” On Feb. 7–8, the Department of Art hosted a two-day ceramics workshop for local high school teachers, the first of a series of workshops and events for art educators. Through demonstrations, presentations and hands-on coaching, workshop participants were able to work with faculty in the Department of Art on skills such as hand molding, sculpting faces and throwing basic forms on a pottery wheel. The workshop fostered an exchange of knowledge in which local educators and BYU faculty shared how they approach teaching different techniques to their students. “I loved interacting with lively and vital teachers and artists who have many of the same goals for their students as we have in the Department of Art,” said professor Brian Christensen, coordinator of BYU’s 3D studio area. “Getting your hands in clay and solving problems on the spot in a group of peers is an invigorating and collaborative experience.” Apart from honing their skills and cultivating connections with the community, these workshops offer local teachers the opportunity to help their students forge a path to a degree in art at BYU. “There are many misconceptions about having a career in art,” said professor Jen Watson. “While it is difficult to change perceptions, we would like to educate our local and regional high school students about art, about its importance within communities and the fruitful careers that come from majoring in it, especially at BYU.” Plans for future workshops and events for teachers and students also include tours of department facilities, classroom visits and regional information sessions. In February and March, representatives from the Department of Art will host department information sessions in Arizona and California. At these events, educators will have the opportunity to ask questions about the Department of Art, the art major, scholarships and even options for non-majors who want to continue making art at BYU. “We want to inform high school educators in particular about the strengths of our department, and to develop a relationship of trust that will encourage them to recommend BYU’s Department of Art to their best senior students seeking higher education,” said Christensen. “We are getting the word out that BYU admissions has a new emphasis on personal essays, which can be inclusive of some art-inclined students who would not have been as competitive with test scores and GPA as the overwhelming admission criteria.” Four five-day workshops will be offered in the spring and summer. All workshops will have a reasonable place-holding fee and some material costs, but will otherwise be free of charge. Teachers participants can use the workshops for Utah State Board of Education licensure points. The next workshop in the series, which will take place in the first week of June, will focus on figure drawing, sketchbook development and mono printing. Art professor Fidalis Buehler is developing the workshop with other faculty members. “The Department of Art wants to engage with local art educators, as they have the potential to impact futures one way or another,” said Watson. “Ultimately, we want to hang out with them, we want to generate enthusiasm about art, creative thinking and careers in art for their students.”

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Alumni Feature: Gian Pierotti

admin — Wed, 11 Dec 2019 19:52:52 +0000

Wish Fulfilment is at the Heart of Art-Making for Ceramist Gian Pierotti After graduating from BYU, Pierotti pursued an MFA at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). As a graduate student, he became an inventor of sorts, making art in response to scenarios he dreamed up. During his first year in VCU’s competitive ceramics program, Pierotti wondered how he could explore the James River using ceramics. Subsequently, he made a large terracotta boat that he floated down the river and docked on an island, where he documented his adventures over several days before leaving the 600-pound craft for another voyager to discover. Pierotti now works full-time at VCU as an academic advisor, where he counsels incoming art freshmen, many of whom are first-generation college students. Read the full story written by Abby Weidmer at art.byu.edu

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BYU Graduates Founded and Participated in Miniature-Themed Art Show

Mason Graham — Tue, 12 Feb 2019 21:51:19 +0000

Three BYU graduates teamed up to bring their influence to the Provo art scene on Friday, Feb. 1 in the Tiny Art Show. The Tiny Art Show is a community project started by BYU graduate McKay Lenker Bayer that brings miniature art to unique spaces. Since December 2018, the Tiny Art Show has showcased different artists who have an interest in miniature art. Read more here.

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Like a Frayed Cord

Courtney Jones — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 15:46:22 +0000

“It started with fear,” says Ryan W. Moffett (MA ’05). “Everybody I knew with MS was in a wheelchair.” Moffett, a ceramics teacher at Murray High School, stands in his art studio next to one of his sculptures—a large, ceramic torso and head with minimal details. It’s one of a series that he created in the wake of learning he had multiple sclerosis in 2013. Moffett titled the sculpture Demyelination, after the nervous system–eroding process that occurs with MS. The sculpture is inspired by Bronze Age statues made by island dwellers in the Aegean Sea, but it also departs from the traditional: the top left chunk of the head is cleanly cut away where the brain should be, and a frayed electrical cord protrudes from the right half. Read more here.

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