Art & Design Department

The ceramics program occupies a 12,400-square-foot, well-equipped studio space including three primary classrooms/studios, glazing room, clay mixing room, glaze mixing room, mold making room, computer lab, resource room, photo area, and an indoor kiln room with twelve electric and four gas kilns.  Indoor areas utilize electrostatic and/or HEPA ventilation. Connected to the main studio is a covered outdoor kiln area with raku, pit, soda, and wood-fire kilns.  

Primary equipment includes 30 pottery wheels, two slab rollers, two extruders, clay mixer, two clay mixing puggers, slip mixer, slip casting table, jigger/jolly, 24" wet lap grinder, wet belt sander, various grinders, tile saws, band saw, drill press, sandblaster, four spray booths, electric drying cabinets, ball mill, gram scales, electronic scales, black decal printer, sepia decal printer, 3-d clay printer, along with various small hand tools.

One of the primary aims of the ceramics program is to challenge the art/design student to think creatively, both critically and self critically; to inquire, create, learn, and grow in a quest for personal expression within the field of visual art/design. A second goal is to provide an energetic atmosphere that will enable the art/design student to develop to the fullest of their creative intellect and potential. This includes expanding and broadening their skills and discipline, strengthening their confidence in their abilities, and developing problem solving capabilities. Excellence and the commitment to excellence is instilled in the students ‑ not to accept the "standard solution" but to seek to go beyond, to take risks.

Another goal is to instill in the students the verbal/visual vocabulary of the artist/designer, and how to use this vocabulary to translate their ideas and feelings into a synonymous three-dimensional form that reflects these ideas and feelings. This development is rooted in a strong foundation of the fundamental techniques which are necessary for personal experimentation and investigation of clay as an individual statement.

The program seeks to give the student these basic principles, not merely standard technical solutions so that he/she has the training, judgment, and flexibility to perform competently in the field. Thus, the ceramics program has a twofold aim: to acquaint the student with the technological knowledge necessary; and to challenge the student to seek their individual identity as a visual designer/artist, whether it be functional or sculptural ceramics.

In trying to foster an atmosphere of learning in the studio and in the program the studio is open seven days a week, allowing virtually unlimited access to the facilities during the academic year. 

Robert L. Wood
Professor of Art and Design/Ceramics
Ceramics Program Coordinator
(716) 878-4414
Campus Address: Upton Hall 129A, woodrl@buffalostate.edu
www.robertlwood.com

Colleen Toledano
Associate Professor of Art and Design/Ceramics
(716)-878-5154
Campus address: Upton Hall 130, toledacs@buffalostate.edu
www.ctoledano.com

The Coalition of Ceramic Designers (C2D) student organization is a USG funded club focused on educating those interested in the ceramic arts. Through the club, the students are able to bring in nationally known ceramic artists for demonstrations and lectures, host kiln firing events, and collaboratively present their work in local galleries. They also build community through monthly themed potlucks.  

Follow Coalition for Ceramic Design on Instagram

Past visiting artist demonstrators include: Travis Winters, Jamie Bates Slone, Patrick Coughlin, Doug Peltzman, Linda Cordell, Brian Giniewski, Christina West, Brad Schwieger, Heather Mae Erickson, Peter Pincus, Tom Bartel, Melissa Mencini, Peter Beasecker, Kensuke Yamada, Daniel Teran, Tim See, Mike Jabbur, Frederick Bartolovich, Shane Keena, Susan Beiner, Gail Heidel, Gary Schlappal, Jason Briggs, Richard Aerni, Chris Dufala, Ben Wilton, Chanda Glendinning, Carrianne Hendrickson, Rick Nickel, Jerry Smith, Ann Perry-Smith, Jeff Kell, Lori Mills, Bill Stewart, Marvin Bjurlin, Carl Shanahan, Dick Hay, Mitch Messina, Bryan Hopkins, and Moi Duggan.

The ceramics program offers a year-long resident artist program for recent Buffalo State B.F.A., M.S. or M.A. ceramics alumni, allowing them time to work on expanding their portfolio in preparation for graduate school or for further career development.   

 

• M.A. in Multidisciplinary Studies Ceramics student Andrea Pawarski

• Ceramics Assessment

Student and Alumni Achievements

 

Natalie Anthone, a ceramics senior BFA major, received the 2020-2021 William Lee Scholarship, a $5,000 national award rewarding undergraduate excellence in ceramic artistry.

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Melanie Fisher, a 2016 graduate of the Ceramics program, was accepted into the MFA graduate program in ceramics at Ohio University in 2020. 

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_"Anthozoa"

_{Textured stoneware
32" x 36" x 13"}

Tori Dombrowski, a senior Ceramics major had her work selected for the National Council on Education for Ceramic Arts' 2020 NCECA Juried Student Exhibition.  She received the Smith-Sharpe Fire Brick Supply Merit Award.  Originally scheduled March 25 - April 19, 2020 and moved to online format due to COVID-19.  NCECA’s cornerstone exhibition was open to students currently in higher education programs throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. More than 300 artists submitted a total of nearly 1,000 images for consideration by ceramic artists Virginia Scotchie and Salvador Jiménez-Flores.

 

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Senior Ceramics major, Christina Aguilera, had her work accepted into the national juried group exhibition, Identity in Clay, at the Clay Center of New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana.  

 

 

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Senior Ceramics major, Win Han, has had his work accepted into two international invitational art exhibitions.

Claytopia/ Sea Roots, National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts conference, Continental Clay Company, Minneapolis, MN. The group invitational exhibition presents the scope of Southeast Asian artists working with clay and expanding the international artisic community by creating friendship, understanding, and an appreciation of artists from various backgrounds. The second group invitational exhibition, Made by Sea, at Pottery Northwest, Seattle, WA, again seeks to showcase Southeast Asian artists who work with clay. 

 

 

^{Loki's Castle - 19”x10”x9.5” , Stoneware , 2018} 

 

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International Juried Exhibition

 

Five works by Ceramics major Samantha Schnell and two works by Ceramics minor Katherine Tiffany were accepted into the 1st Biennial International Juried Mug Competition, juried by David Hiltner.  The exhibition will be from December 8, 2017 through January 14, 2018 at the Mojo Coffee Gallery in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

 

^{_{"Mountain View Mug" by Samantha Schnell}}

 

 

 

_{^{"Cascade Mug" by Katherine Tiffany}} 

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2017 National Juried Exhibition - Liam Calhoun

Senior Ceramics major Liam Calhoun's ceramic piece was accepted into the 2017 NCECA National Student Juried Exhibition, part of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts conference that approximately 5,000 people attend every year.  The NCECA National Student Juried Exhibition has quickly become one of the premier exhibitions of student ceramic work in the United States. The 2017 NSJE jurors selected 25 artists out of 293 artist submissions; 18 graduate, five undergraduate, and two post-baccalaureates. The exhibition features emerging talent in the field and highlights the variety and caliber of student work from across the country. The selected pieces were on display at the Hofman Gallery in Portland, Oregon.

 

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RJ Sturgess, a 2012 graduate of the program was accepted into the MFA program in Ceramics at Georgia State University and began Fall 2017. 

 

 

 

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Tina Vu

 

 

 

Tina Vu was accepted into the MFA ceramics programs at RISD, Syracuse, Virginia Commonwealth, Ohio University and SUNY New Paltz. She selected Ohio University in Athens, Ohio and graduated in 2017. Ohio University’s MFA ceramics program is currently nationally ranked 4th. 

 

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Rachelyn Spry

Rachelyn Spry’s ceramic piece was accepted into the 2014 NCECA National Student Juried Exhibition, part of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts conference that approximately 5,000 people attend every year.  The NCECA National Student Juried Exhibition has quickly become one of the premier exhibitions of student ceramic work in the United States. The 2014 NSJE features 59 works out of 593 pieces submitted by undergraduates, post-baccalaureates, and graduates across the country representing 39 schools. The exhibition features emerging talent in the field and highlights the variety and caliber of student work from across the country.  The selected pieces were on display at the Frederick Layton Gallery at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design.

 

 

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Suzie Molnar's Work

Ceramics alumni Suzie Molnar, Sarah McNutt, Scott Losi, and Carrianne Hendrickson have their work featured in the book 500 Figures in Clay, Volume 2, by Nan Smith, Lark Books, 2014.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Leeann Catanzaro

Leeann Catanzaro's work was accepted into the 20th San Angelo National Ceramic Competition held at the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts in San Angelo, Texas.  This national exhibition also included artists from Mexico and Canada and was juried by Leoplold Foulem from Montreal Canada.  

 

 

 

 

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Emily Chamberlain

2011 Ceramics graduate and 2011-12 Ceramics program resident artist, Emily Chamberlain, graduated with an MFA in Ceramics from Wichita State University.