With the theme “Emerging Legacies,” the 35th annual conference of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) will be held March 28-31 at the Adam’s Mark Hotel and nearby Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, N.C.

Panels will discuss traditions in eastern U.S. vernacular stoneware, clay in the age of mechanical reproduction, the ceramic realists, ceramic curriculum for K-12 and beyond, designing figurines, teaching throwing, the “vessel threshold” and installation techniques.

Lectures will include “Women Who Left a Legacy,” by Barbara Perry; “Marketing Your Work,” by Wendy Rosen; “Stable Glazes for Functional Pottery,” by John F. Hesselberth; “Shared Traditions: North Carolina Folk and Studio Potters,” by Andrew Glasgow and Charlotte Brown; “Korean Ceramics: Tradition and Beyond,” by Yoonchung Kim; “Appropriate Technology in Developing Countries,” by Manny Hernandez; “Wood-Fired Ceramics: Contemporary Interpretations,” by Coll Minogue and Robert Sanderson; and “Contradictions in Harmony: Japanese Contemporary Ceramics,” by Sadashi Inuzuka.

An important component of each annual conference are the two NCECA sponsored exhibitions: the Regional Student Juried Exhibition and the NCECA Clay National Exhibition.* In addition, other organizations, galleries and individuals sponsor special ceramics exhibitions concurrent with the conference schedule.

Registration, demonstrations, commercial and nonprofit exhibits, the NCECA Fellowship Cup Sale, and the Opportunities Room will take place at the Convention Center. The rest of the program will be held at the Adam’s Mark Hotel. Continuous shuttle service between the Convention Center, the Adam’s Mark and the Holiday Inn and Omni Hotel will be provided beginning on Tuesday, March 27 through March 31.

For More Information

For more information about the conference, contact Regina Brown, NCECA Executive Secretary, P.O. Box 1677, Bandon, OR 97411; (800) 99-NCECA; fax (541) 347-7076; or visit http://www.nceca.net.

Editor's Note

All works shown in this article will be on display at the NCECA 2001 Clay National Exhibition, hosted by the Winthrop University Galleries.

Acknowledgements

NCECA is pleased to present the NCECA 2001 Clay National Exhibition, hosted by the Winthrop University Galleries.

The Clay National Exhibition begins with artists who are willing to put their work on the line. The over 1300 entries submitted this year constitute the largest base of participation in the history of NCECA exhibitions. Without the hundreds of artists who entered work, this would not be a true Clay National. The exhibition would not be the broad, vital look at the field of ceramic art that it is. For the jurors, artists Cynthia Bringle, Michael Lucero and Jim Melchert, selecting the 66 works for the 2001 Clay National was an extremely challenging task.

NCECA thanks the Nidec-Shimpo America Corp. for their sixth year of sponsorship of the Tradition of Excellence Purchase Award. This year’s exhibition inaugurates the Skutt Ceramic Products Purchase Award, as well as the NCECA Purchase Awards. For 2001, Clay Times magazine sponsors their third Award of Merit, and Trax Gallery in Berkeley, CA, their second Useful Pot Award. We welcome the addition this year of the Ceramic Monthly Award of Merit.

Like NCECA itself, the Clay National Exhibition is a labor of love to which many people contribute an extraordinary amount of time and effort for little or no personal reward. To be commended for their efforts are Tom May, who served his second term as the Clay National Registrar, and the Southwest Texas State University students who assisted with the jurying process. Thank you to the SWT Department of Art and Design for hosting the jurying proceedings.

The Council owes a considerable debt of gratitude to Tom Stanley and the entire staff at the Winthrop University Galleries for their tremendous effort in hosting the 2001 NCECA Clay National Exhibition. This splendid gallery, a former Carnegie library replete with a beautiful Tiffany stained glass skylight, provides a distinguished setting for the Clay National. To all viewers of the NCECA 2001 Clay National Exhibition, I sincerely hope that you will enjoy the exhibition.

--Michel L. Conroy, NCECA Exhibitions Director, San Marcos, Texas