By David Bilbao
The Ceramics Department attended and represented East Los Angeles College at the California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramic Art. The conference took place at University of California, Davis.
The students, Lisandro Limon, Michiko Murakami, Romina Cruz, Jacob Vasquez, Peggie Tai, Claudia Solorazano and Jen Tsung all showcased their work for the first time.
Chris Turk, ELAC ceramics instructor, said that attending the conference gave his students an opportunity to show their work, meet with other ceramic students and instructors, and also share an environment of learning.
“I was very proud of their work with the respect to the work of the other participating colleges,” said Turk.
All the students that attended the convention came from different backgrounds and ambitions, but all shared the same enthusiasm and effort for their work.
“They were great representatives for ELAC, very dedicated students that conducted themselves (well) the whole weekend. It reflects well on the college,” Turk said.
“We had a stong review and appreciation for ELAC, being (that) it’s the first year attending the ceramics conference, with bold ceramic pieces and support from instructor Turk and the teacher’s assistant Carla Tome,” Vasquez said.
“It was a great learning experience. All the work and long hours we put in culminated there at Davis. We got a lot of positive responses from the public, other students and professors,” said Murakami.
Before going to Davis, the ceramics department held a Ceramics Sale in order to obtain the funding for the trip. They were able to collect a grand total of $1,000 for the trip.
“We had a blast and learned a lot from the types of work the other schools presented. It open a door allowing me to see other schools, possibilities and certain programs,” said Limon.
The students had various works of art that showed expressions such as inner struggles, artistic appeals, violence and psychological expressions.