To close out Coalescence: Exploring Contemporary Ceramics and Artist Communities, the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art is hosting a panel discussion and a pottery demonstration with artists from our current exhibitions Coalescence: Exploring Contemporary Ceramics and Artist Communities, Threads That Bind: Elucidating Diverse Voices of Womanhood, and from our upcoming show, Long Way Home: C. Finley.
These events will take place on April 20, 2023. The panel discussion will begin at 10 a.m. in the Stauffacher Theatre. The pottery demonstration will follow at 1 p.m. in Stauffacher Building Room 40.
Artists Gina Pisto, Casey Whittier, Nicole Woodard, Debra Smith, and C. Finley will participate in a panel discussion over their current exhibitions, artworks, and questions generated by the audience. This panel discussion will be moderated by SFCC Art History professor Dr. Meghan McClellan. Artist Samuel Johnson of Coalescence will be leading the pottery demonstration following the panel discussion.
Gina Pisto of Coalescence is originally from Columbus, OH and is currently an artist-in-residence at Belger Crane Yard Studios in Kansas City, MO. Pisto completed her Bachelors of Fine Art in Ceramics at Grand Valley State University and then went on to receive her post-baccalaureate in Craft & Material Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2018. Pisto completed her Masters of Fine Arts in Ceramics at Ohio University in 2022.
Casey Whittier of Coalescence received her BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) and her MFA from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Whittier currently teaches Ceramics and Social Practice at KCAI.
Nicole Woodard of Coalescence is an artist living in Kansas City, MO. Woodard received her Masters of Fine Art in Ceramics from the University of Kansas in 2021 and is currently teaching Foundation and Ceramic courses at Benedictine College in Atchison, KS.
Debra Smith of Threads That Bind was born in Kansas City and raised in Hannibal, MO. Smith studied at the Italian Academy of Fashion & Design; Lorenzo de Medici in Florence, Italy before receiving her BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute with a major in Fiber in 1993 and an Associate Degree in Applied Science from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2002. Smith resides in Kansas City where she continues to create art from vintage textiles.
C. Finley of Long Way Home received her BFA from the Pratt Institute New York and her MFA from California State University, Long Beach. As the creator of the 2014-21 Every Woman Biennial, she exhibited 1200 female and non-binary artists in New York, Los Angeles, and London. Finley has shown internationally and her work has been featured in the The New York Times, La Repubblica, Dazed, Fast Company, Women’s Wear Daily, LALA, and more.
Samuel Johnson of Coalescence studied painting and ceramics at the University of Minnesota at Morris. In 2000, Johnson was invited as a guest of Denmark’s Design School to study Scandinavian Ceramic design in Copenhagen. In 2005, Johnson earned graduate degrees in fine art from the University of Iowa. He is currently an Associate Professor of Art at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University in Central Minnesota.
Dr. Meghan McClellan graduated with an AA with an emphasis in Studio Art from Cottey College, then a BA in Art History and Archaeology from MU. McClellan received her Masters in Art History and Archeology, and her PhD in Art History and Archaeology from MU. McClellan worked with renowned American Art Historian, Dr. Kristen Schwain (assistant and research partner to Dr. Wanda Corn) on multiple museum exhibitions at MU. Her specialty is 19th Century Women Artists with an emphasis in Photography. McClellan was the instructor of record for American Visual Culture and Survey II at Mizzou for three years and has also worked with the President of the North American Archaeology association and previous Director of the University Museum, Dr. Alex Barker on building a collection record for Stephens College.
