Spirituality and meditation are constant themes in Kate Lewis' artwork.
Sitting in the Kresge Art Center's ceramics room last Tuesday, she worked on her fourth installation piece — this one is centered around leaves.
The leaves created by the English and studio art senior look real, as if it's possible to hear the breeze blow through them on a crisp fall day. For Lewis, the leaf is a symbol of transcendence and the life cycle.
"I want my art to be more of an experience that you feel," she said.
Lewis is an officer of the MSU Ceramics Club, which she helped revive last year. She and about 20 other club members meet Tuesdays to discuss club events and work on their art.
To raise money, the club holds pottery sales, usually in front of the Auditorium. This year is the first time they're holding their sale at the Dancing Crane Gallery, 2312 E. Michigan Ave. in Lansing. The sale runs through Dec. 8.
The students' pieces at the gallery range in price from a couple of dollars to a couple hundred dollars, but the stories behind them are worth much more.
Studio art senior and Ceramics Club officer Jeff Blandford focuses his work solely on design. His pieces are modern and fashion-oriented, and he sells his work mostly to interior designers. He likes to use strong colors like red and trendy color schemes, such as light blue and brown.
"I started in high school, and I fell in love," he said. "It's just fun."
Blandford plans to work in a big city once he graduates, such as Santa Monica, Calif., or Chicago, he said.
Club member Gavin Lupinski doesn't sell a lot of his work — only little things, like teapots, he said. Rather, he buries some of his pieces.
"You can't store stuff forever," Lupinski said. "I just draw a map and dig it up if I need it."
Lupinski, a studio art senior, is graduating in December. He said his ultimate goal is to make a living through art and plans to continue his job welding and working with custom ceramics. He's working on a piece for his graduation exhibition. He is making spikes, a shape he commonly works with, to form a big 'V' and a little 'V.' He said when light hits the spikes, it will cast shadows of bird wings on the wall.
"It's an intriguing shape (I) used for a lot of stuff," he said.
Ceramics Club faculty adviser Blake Williams said she believes the rejuvenated club will succeed. While working on her master's degree at Louisiana State University, she was part of a ceramics club there.
"(The club) gives them an outlet, a way of being creative," said Williams, who is now an MSU assistant professor of ceramics.
The club is for anyone interested in working with ceramics. Lewis cautions, however, that it is mainly for self-learners and self-motivators, as the club is not a class.
