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CERAMICS CLASSES
CREATE TILES FOR UNL'S SELLECK DINING HALL  Stacia Blas', who was in the beginning ceramics class, works on painting her tile. "The challenge issued to us by UNL Housing was to incorporate color into the monochromatic servery, using ceramic tile," said Jennifer Rohn, an interior designer with Erickson Sullivan Architects in Lincoln. "We wanted to take the idea one step further and introduce some colorful food-themed tiles, to not only add color, but a theme and pattern. However, such commercial tiles are hard to find and quite expensive, and that's where the idea was born to get the UNL art students involved." Kendall said she was intrigued by the project when she was approached about the project by Dave Erickson, an architect with Erickson Sullivan Architects. "It was exciting that the architects and University Housing were embracing the idea of handmade artwork in a commercial plan," she said.  Susan Dewsnap and Gail Kendall hold up two of the finished ceramic tiles. "We are thrilled with the finished products," Rohn said. "They are creative, colorful and completely unique." Ellen Hardy, Program Coordinator for the Selleck Dining Hall, agreed. "I think they are awesome," she said. "They add a touch of whimsy to the dining room. They exceeded my expectations." Master of Fine Arts student Susan Dewsnap, who was Kendall's graduate teaching assistant in these two ceramics classes, said the final tiles were varied in style. "The tiles are beautiful, colorful and varied," she said. "Ideas for the tiles were based on trips to Selleck Dining Hall, as well as looking at other sources of how to compose food, such as historical and contemporary still life paintings. The outcome runs the gamut from the classic, like fish served on a plate, to the more contemporary hotdog with a bite taken out of it and served with tater tots." At the beginning of the project in March, students went to Selleck Hall to see where the tiles would be presented and get ideas about what foods are served in the dining hall. "Although initially students seemed to view this project as a bit of an intrusion into the flow of their creative ceramic work, once work started on the tiles, it generated an abundance of talk, sharing ideas and creative laughter among the students," Dewsnap said. "The project brought to bear the cycle of ceramic making: the labor of hand-pounding out individual 12" x 12" tiles, conceiving an idea and figuring out how to execute that idea on a tile. Finally, students painted the tiles with a white slip and then applied bright colored underglazes to bring to fruition their tiles." Megan Magsamen, a Bachelor of Arts major from Lincoln in the intermediate ceramics class, said students enjoyed the extra freedom of this project. "I was in the dessert group, and we decided to do a colorful variety of as many different kinds of desserts as we could think of," she said. "We tried to use bright colors, as well as patterns, to make the tiles as unique as we could. Professor Kendall let us decide as groups what ways we wanted to decorate and design the tiles. We were given a lot of freedom. I liked best that we had creative freedom when we made the tiles, and that it was so different from anything that most of us had done in other ceramics classes." Students also realized they were leaving their mark on campus for years to come. "There is always a feeling of pride when you leave something behind at your school to be seen by all in the future," said Kim Nuss, an art education senior from Aurora, Neb., who was in the intermediate ceramics class. "I think I will be even prouder if I actually come back and see them after graduation." A lasting legacy for the students was one reason the architectural firm wanted to use the students' work for the tiles. "We felt that the concept of integrating student art into the wall design was a great way to foster a shared-authorship of the final design with the students, some of which will use the facility for several years," Rohn said. "And since the ceramic tiles are an element of the permanent wall finish, they will be enjoyed by other students and faculty for many years beyond the original artists' time at the University." The tiles were fired and glazed by Graduate Teaching Assistant Susan Dewsap in May and are scheduled to be installed in July by Krogman Tile. Students will see the finished tiles when the Selleck Dining Hall re-opens this Fall. "I'm excited to see the tiles up," said Stacia Blase, a studio art sophomore from Liberty, Mo., who was in the beginning ceramics class. "The vibrant colors are going to make that cafeteria look awesome." |
