Shine On You Crazy Diamond - Annual Ceramics Exhibition curated by Tina Stipanovic

Curatorial Statement My love affair with ceramics was instant. I was fortunate to be introduced to it at a very early age, because clay was all around me. It was simply dirt, and playing with it satisfied me more than any toy. As I grew older, I learned that this magnificent dirt carries stories rich in histories, vibrant traditions, personal and cultural identities, memories, and knowledge passed between generations. Ultimately, it was the stories that kept me and continue to call me. The stories allowed me to keep playing well into adulthood. I could be an artist, a craftsman, an anthropologist, an archaeologist. I could study people, cultures, materials, histories, and processes, never settling and all the while playing. These days, it seems that with each passing day, we experience some form of erasure. In the name of simplicity, betterment, efficiency, and our supposed advancement as a civilization, the human element is increasingly treated as something to be eliminated. Artists first. Better, shinier, automated options are available, without any of the messiness or play that comes with being human. Then, in a society that increasingly profits from our erasure, preserving our stories, our material knowledge, and even the simple act of playing in the dirt, becomes an act of rebellion. In this exhibition, as we tell our stories with this dirt we love so much, I envision not only a display of our work, but rather a wondrous exploration of craft, material sensibility, the slowness and care inherent in clay, the intergenerational knowledge, processes, traditions, experiments, discoveries, and stories embedded within the work. So come on, you raver, you seer of visions. Come on, you painter, you piper, you prisoner—and shine. Open call: I am especially interested in representations of the rich diversity of ceramic techniques and traditions, including varied methodologies, decorative practices, and alternative firing processes. Artists are also encouraged to submit do