Ted Saupe, Professor of Art at University of Georgia.

The Georgia High School Ceramic Arts Awards and Symposium provides recognition and creative stimulation for high school students who are interested in the ceramic arts. The first show was held in April of 2005 at the Centre for Performing and Visual Arts at 1523 Lower Fayetteville Road in Newnan. Special thanks go to Don Nixon and the staff of the Centre, for their vision, enthusiasm, and complete support in this effort to showcase the achievements of students and hands-on activities in the ceramic arts. Special thanks are also in order to Doug Adams of Newnan High, Andy Cunningham of Woodward Academy, Tom Zwierlein of The Lovett School for their contributions and hard work in running the Raku portion of the symposium. Jennifer Hall and Kelli Williams of East Coweta High, Lisa Middei of Northgate High  and local artist Sherry Cook also helped work with students in building Totem Poles and assisted with Raku.  Jerry Richardson of Studio 8 Embroidery taught throwing on the wheel. Nancy Sizemore of Northgate High helped run the hands-on activities and took photographs. Jodie Hobbs and Carol Toole of Newnan High helped with registration, setup of the exhibit, and lunch. Pamela Watkins arranged the donation of Ceramics Monthly posters and copies of Potterymaking Illustrated magazine. There are many others who helped that I have not named here, but a great team effort always occurs with all the mud lovers. Student work was accepted and exhibited from 25 high schools and the upcoming event looks to be the biggest and best one yet.

The juror for the 2009 show is Professor Ted Saupe of the University of Georgia, and his dedication in jurying over 825 images was crucial to putting together the coming exhibit of over 100 works by students in 25 different high schools. The symposium will be held on Saturday, April 18, 2009 with the workshops beginning at 9am. Ted Saupe will give a presention in the Centre auditorium on the ceramics program at UGA at 11:45 and will then present awards. The exhibit will be up for two weeks.

     Our main sponsor for the event is Angel Stewart of Davens Ceramic Center at 5076 Peachtree Road in Atlanta. Many thanks are due to Angel for her moral and financial support. If you have any questions you should contact Dale Sizemore at or

 

 

 

Davens Ceramic Center

5076 Peachtree Road

Atlanta, Georgia

770-451-2105

 

by Ted Saupe

I was honored a a little intimidated when asked if I would jury your work for the high school's of ceramic exhibition. I should start by saying that I am very impressed that there are so many good quality ceramics programs in our state.

I know how hard the students work and how much it takes from both the teachers and the students to produce this caliber of work. Some of the best pieces far exceeded my expectations of what high school ceramics would look like. It was technically well crafted and possessed a real sense of the individual maker. I felt that each student was honestly trying to express feelings and emotions that were important to them in many of the pieces. Others were more concerned with good craftsmanship and working in a more traditional pottery style. The makers of these pots were sensitive to what the clay, glaze and firing could potentially do. Because of their sensitivity to the material and their patient skill, they were rewarded with strong pots. I thought the hand built vessels were the strongest, and had a real sense of scale and physical presence. Some of the best sculptures dealt with architectural themes and abstract constructions using slabs of clay put together in innovative and energetic ways. I responded to the pieces that allowed the material and the process to show. I also was moved by the sincerity and convictions I recognized  in the figurative pieces. I expected more humor as a theme in the work. Perhaps in these tough times that is something we can work towards. Art can change the moment and humor is always good medicine to help bring about that change. So, again, thank you for entrusting me to be your juror. I know I missed some good pieces and want to promise you that I did not mean to discourage anyone. Judging work by digital images is certainly not the best way to judge a show. The quality of the photograph is given too much authority. Congratulations to all of you and congratulations to your parents and teachers for supporting you as young artists. I will end by thanking Dale Sizemore for having the vision and energy to organize this great exhibition of the best student ceramic work in .

Sincerely yours,

Ted Saupe

Professor of Ceramics

University of Georgia