The LSU Ceramic Arts Student Association held their biannual art market at Free Speech Alley on Nov. 15th through the 17th, where students from clubs within the School of Art sold their sculptures, ceramics, paintings and more.
Students persevered through the chilly and rainy conditions to showcase and sell their artwork this week. From 9 am to 3:30 pm, everything from earrings to art prints were sold. The market was filled with beautiful pieces that embodied what the LSU College of Art & Design has to offer.
Artwork made by the members of the Print Club, Society of Sculptors, Ceramic Artist Student Association, Digital Art & Design Association, Photo Club, Graphic Design Student Association and Painters League were displayed in numerous booths outside of the Union Theatre.
Proceeds from the sale go towards the artists themselves and towards guest artists to visit. This sale allows CASA to fund the Visiting Artists & Scholars program, which promotes student participation in the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts annual conference.
This graduate sculpture student Cecelia Moseley’s second art market.
“The money we raised, the program matched,” Moseley says. “We were able to take six people to an art conference in Birmingham, Alabama last year.”
This was senior painting and drawing student Amber Lowe’s second art market. She created four prints to sell in this semester’s showcase and explained the simple process of selling in the art market. All members who are interested in selling their prints need to submit a photograph of their work, then the program takes care of the rest.
“The ceramics have been doing this the longest,” Lowe said. “They started the event and opened it up to the rest of the art school.”
Now, all art and design students are able to understand what it is like to sell your work. The sale is not only a chance for students to begin making profits, but also to dip their toes in the business side of being an artist.
“Sales like this help to understand the business of selling art. It allows you to get comfortable with selling by putting yourself out there,” Moseley said. “It’s a learning experience for me. We all learn how to do art fairs and the logistics behind it. It is helpful to see what goes into being an artist instead of being a starving artist.”
Each club had chalk drawings on the sidewalk or creative signs advertising what the artists were selling. The ceramics table was filled with bowls, magnets, plates and vases. While other booths, like the sculpture tent, were filled with jewelry and keychains.
Sculpture work can have a wide range of meaning. Fifth year sculpture major Adrianna Hawkins explains that wearable sculptures are what people tend to make the most because it sells the most.
“It’s more of a choice to choose what you want to sell, but jewelry tends to be the most fun and popular to do,” Hawkins explains.
The College of Art and Design gives this unique experience to LSU students and artists twice a year. This art market provides opportunities for art students to make a name of themselves in the local art community. Make sure to check out the next art market in the spring to see what the LSU College of Art and Design students have to offer.
