Ceramic Artists Childers, Cain to Show Works at UA

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Ceramic artists Ian Childers and Micah Cain will visit The University of Alabama from Wednesday, April 15, to Friday, April 17.

UA’s Creative Campus Initiative and the department of art and art history are presenting the visit.

Students and the public may meet the artists informally at the Crimson Ceramics Society’s Cookout at Woods Quad at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 15.  The artists also will show their work in the Ferguson Center gallery throughout their visit with an opening reception at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 16.

A joint lecture will be at 7 p.m. April 16 in 205 Smith Hall. The artists also will present a one-day ceramics workshop in the ceramics building, Bureau of Mines, beginning at 9 a.m. Friday, April 17. 

All events are free and open to the public.  To arrange an appointment with Creative Campus intern Jason Doblin, the event organizer, Cain or Childers, contact Alexis Clark, coordinator, alexis.clark@ua.edu or the Creative Campus office at 205/348-7884.  For more information regarding the festival, visit www.creativecampus.ua.edu or call 205/348-7884.

Childers received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in ceramics from Shorter College in 2004.  He received his Master of Fine Arts with a concentration in ceramics from the University of Massachusetts in 2008.  He teaches sculpture and ceramics at Shorter College in Rome, Ga.  Following his inclusion in the “Strictly Functional Pottery National” for both 2007 and 2008, he was chosen to participate in “The Crystalline Spectrum,” a show hosting 50 of the top crystalline glaze potters in the world.

Cain grew up in Rome, Ga.  He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in ceramics at Shorter College and a Master of Fine Arts at Georgia State University.  He is one of four resident ceramic artists at the EnergyXchange.  Cain lives and works in the mountains of Western North Carolina and is a resident artist at the EnergyXchange.

He makes wheel thrown and hand-built sculptural forms. The beauty of the mountainous landscape and its rich community of contemporary artists serve as usable inspiration in his ceramic work.

Under the auspices of UA’s Office of Academic Affairs The Creative Campus Initiative is a collaborative system connecting students, faculty and community to nurture innovative thinkers who turn ideas into action.  Creative Campus seeks to serve as a hub of collaboration and creative activity at The University of Alabama.  At the heart of Creative Campus is the undergraduate and graduate intern program.  For more information on Creative Campus visit www.creativecampus.ua.edu