Visual arts officials to host workshops with community artist

The School of Visual Arts is hosting drop-in pottery workshops with the help of a community artist.

Jarica Walsh, ceramics artist, curator and arts administrator, will assist with the pottery workshops, which are open to students and members of the community.

Walsh lives and works in Oklahoma City, specializing in ceramics that explore personal identity themes.

“When I came in January, one of the goals for the School of Visual Arts was to have a greater presence at OCU but also off campus in the arts community,” said Holly Moye, visual arts director.

“So we started this arts/artist series for the spring, and every month we have one or two workshops, public studios or public arts commissions. We want to offer amazing arts opportunities for all.”

In addition to the workshops themselves, Walsh will have open studio hours from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Wednesday and Friday until April 21 during which students can drop by.

Students, faculty and members of the community can come by and create a pot, a coffee mug or a sculptural piece, and glaze it for free.

Walsh said she had the idea because she knew there weren’t any current ceramic classes.

“I knew Holly already, and we were talking about what she’s doing to increase awareness for the arts, and so I made a proposal to her to come in and use the ceramics studio to do a residency because there aren’t any classes being offered right now in ceramics,” Walsh said.

“So we wanted to activate the studio and allow students to come in and make work and see the process.”

The next workshop will be from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 19 in the ceramics studio in Norick Art Center.

The following one will be April 22 with the Native American Art exhibit “Spring Equinox.” One of the artists will be on campus to do a mixed media beadworking workshop where participants can beadwork on vintage postcards and learn about traditional Native American beadworking.

For more information on upcoming workshops or guest artists, go to the Visual Arts Facebook page @OCUSchoolofVisualArts.

For more information on Walsh, go to her website or follow her on Instagram @jjarica.