A UF club is raising money to send students to a ceramics conference.
Handbuilt Or Thrown Clay started its semesterly clay sale on the Plaza of the Americas on Monday. It will continue today. The money will go toward sending about 15 students to the 2017 National Council on Education of the Ceramic Arts conference, which will be held in March.
The club will send slightly fewer students than this year because the conference is in Portland, Oregon, said Paige Ward, the club’s president. The 2016 competition was in Kansas City, Missouri.
The club is selling items including dishes and vases, she said. They’re hoping to raise about $2,500.
Half of the money from sales goes back to the artists who created the works, while the other half goes to the club, Ward, a UF ceramics master’s student, said.
Most pieces cost between $5 to $80, and the price is determined by the artist, she said. Pieces come from class projects and students who enjoy sculpting.
“We put the sale on to get our work out there to the public,” the 27-year-old said.
Stephanie Wilhelm, a UF ceramics master’s student, said she brought about 50 pieces to sell, ranging from $25 to $75.
She started preparing for the sale during Winter Break, the 30-year-old said.
“Just talking to people and seeing them buy things and be excited about the work is a really good feeling.”
Erin Wagner, 21, examines ceramic cups on the Plaza of the Americas at the Handbuilt or Thrown Clay Spring Sale on Monday. The UF art junior said she admired the work of Stephanie Wilhelm, who she said worked with bodies a lot.
