The art department will host their annual pottery sale this Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Barefoot Student Union Building. Tables will line the walls of the SUB throughout the day with pottery made by Union students and art professors. The sale is two days before Mother’s Day, so this is an excellent chance for students to buy unique gifts for their mothers.
Senior art major, Sarah-Anne Winchester, has participated in various pottery sales for four years, amounting to eight sales.
“It takes about two weeks to make one thing,” Winchester said. “You have to make the clay, make the actual pot, add any attachments or decorations, do the first firing known as the bisque. Then you have to glaze it and then a glaze firing and then you have to clean it up and smooth out the bottom and then price it. It takes two weeks to make a pile of dust transform into a usable mug.”
There are a lot of factors that go into what makes a piece sell: aesthetics, the date of the sale, the skill level of the artists and the type of pottery sold.
“I always enjoy seeing the work that students have been putting into their crafts and the different styles each of them have,” said senior English major, Michala Allen. “There are always beautiful mugs, bowls and teapots, but I also like seeing the little trinkets and other more unexpected things like pins or jewelry that are sold alongside the more traditional pieces.”
The event will have all of the initial pottery prices. However, the prices will decline as the day progresses. With 20 different artists submitting pieces for sale, there will be something unique for everyone.