Holiday sale this week will be the first to include both ceramics and printmaking

The holiday ceramics and print sale will take place Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Tippets Exhibit Hall located in the Chase Fine Arts Center at Utah State University.

This will be the first time the USU Ceramics Guild and the USU Printmaking Guild have their holiday sales together.

Holland Larsen, the president of the USU Printmaking Guild, said both guilds have had their own holiday sales in the past. She said there has been a print sale for at least seven years.

According to John Neely, a Ceramics Guild adviser, the sale for his guild has been going on since he started working at USU 29 years ago.

“A huge benefit for the printmaking side is that the ceramics people have been doing it for so long that so many people know about it and come to it,” said Laura Bassett, a printmaking major.  “And when they come to the ceramics, they’ll be able to get printmaking as well without having to go to two different sales. So that’ll be cool.”

For Kirsten Taylor, a ceramics student who will have some of her work sold, the advantage in combining the sales is she can see other forms of art.

“You don’t only draw inspiration from ceramic artists,” said Taylor. “You can draw inspiration from other media.”

According to Larsen, 30 percent of the sales will go to her guild so its members can go to the annual Southern Graphics Council International Printmaking Conference, where they can interact with other printmakers from different parts of the world.

According to Neely, proceeds for the ceramics sales will go toward a variety of things including scholarship funds, equipment purchases and visiting artists. 

“That’s the sole budget source that we have,” Neely said.

Besides proceeds, Neely said the Ceramics Guild benefits from the sale in that it gives students experience.

“It’s the nature of working in visual arts that when your work is going to be displayed, you get very involved in it, very concerned, very committed to making it look good,” Neely said. “When your ego’s on the line, you perform.”