Fall Exhibition 2022
Opens November 16, 2022, Closes January 6, 2022
Public Reception: November 18, 2022 |
5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Metal & Clay
featuring: Andi and Robert Moran with Brooke Cassady and Lauren Phillips
The Morans founded their studio "Objects" in 1988. Both Robert and Andi are graduates of Louisiana Tech where both have taught art and design. Andi has also studied ceramics at Penland, Arrowmont, and the Archie Bray foundation. Since 1996 Andi has worked as a full-time studio artist. Until 2010 Robert split his time between the studio and the classroom; now retired as Professor Emeritus, he works with Andi full-time in the studio.
​
The Morans have exhibited in over 80 juried and invitational shows throughout the country, including the Smithsonian Craft Show. They have participated in numerous juried, national trade shows and have been represented by galleries in virtually every major metropolitan area of the U.S. Their work has been featured in The Washington Post, in Smithsonian magazine, American Craft and in numerous other regional and national publications. Among the awards which the Morans' work has won are two NEA/Louisiana Division of the Arts artist fellowships, "Best Lamp" award in the national competition "Table, Lamp + Chair", and a Roger Ward Ranger Fund Prize at the National Academy of Design.
​
The Morans work with a vocabulary of forms and a palette of finishes which are intended to evoke the archaic and primordial. Most of the work is low-fired, white earthenware; but numerous pieces, especially one-of-a-kinds, include steel, resin, fabric, and other media in the realization of particular design ideas. To give the illusion of a time-wrought patina, ceramic finishes involve a sequence of applied layers of slip, stain, and glaze, followed by surface abrasion; metal finishes typically involve the application of acids to achieve oxidation and rusting. The Morans' sculptures, lamps, boxes, vessels, and furniture derive from their personal interests in tribal, biological, psychological, botanical, mechanical and architectural references
Brooke Cassady
Brooke Cassady is an Assistant Professor of Art in 3D Design and Ceramics and is the Director of the School of Design Galleries at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, LA. She holds the Clarece Harp Lyles Endowed Professorship in Ceramic Arts. Since 2019, Brooke has taught Wheel-Throwing and Hand-Building Ceramics, Intro to 3D Design, Sculpture, as well as Contemporary Art History at Louisiana Tech.
​
Originally from Athens, GA Brooke graduated from Boston University in 2003 with a BA in Art History and received her MFA in Ceramics from Louisiana State University in 2011. She also pursued post baccalaureate research in Ceramics at the University of Georgia in 2006. Her thesis research focused on community engagement and self-actualization through impromptu interactions with raw clay in public spaces.
​
Brooke taught at various universities, helped run community art centers and craft programs, and was Curator and Director of Levee Gallery. She is a board member of the Masur Museum and the Food Bank of NELA’s Empty Bowls Event.
She’s currently an interdisciplinary artist working predominantly with ceramics, fibers, metals and repurposed objects. She utilizes materials to achieve forms that feel bound yet expansive, trying to capture the visceral experiences and emotions within the body. Her work references the interconnectedness of humans and all other beings, the collective unconscious and the natural world. Her work has been exhibited nationally in solo, invitational, and juried shows.
"Threadlike ceramic forms relate to our hearts, our breath, our lungs, our fragile bones protected by thin veils of skin and linear bands of muscle and fascia. They feel simultaneously permanent and impermanent. Porous and open, empty spaces defy the presence of material. Clay integrates with discarded objects, fragments of past memories, to add layers, sometimes soft, enticing or peculiar. Clays and glazes ripple and ooze as they expand and melt while other forms appear bound and compressed. Each component is made with various clay bodies and processes in order to capture signs of process, transformation or decay. Some components appear strong and durable while others act more like remnants or residue, exemplifying the effects of time and echoing feelings of loss. I capture visceral experiences, emotions, and ephemeral moments in a variety of materials to suggest the interconnectedness of humans, the collective unconscious, and the natural world." -Brooke Cassady
Lauren Phillips
"My initial interest in the ceramic medium originates from my admiration of the clay itself. This admiration can be seen throughout my process of making. Whether found in the sculptural or functional work I produce, the characteristics of the clay leads me to use surface finishes that gently add color to each piece without concealing the raw appearance.
​
Ceramics satisfies the tangibility I crave as an artist. It enables a bridge between the mind and the body in a meditative flow resulting in the finished work. This tangibility is also an important part of the work I create. The physical and emotional intimacy people have with everyday objects can often be taken for granted, but these objects shape how we view the world today.
By replicating common items such as handwritten notes in paper or tableware, I am asking my audience to question the real value and significance these items have in their everyday life. Ceramics enables mundane, mass produced objects to become unique and precious to the individual." -Lauren Phillips
Lauren Phillips is a ceramic artist from Shreveport, Louisiana. She received her BFA in studio art at Louisiana Tech University’s School of Design. Lauren’s work explores the tangible and intimate nature of functional and sculptural ceramics. She aims to create work that resembles ordinary objects which generate a sense of familiarity enabling her audience to feel connected with the work physically and
emotionally.