+
arts & culture
KANSAN.COM | THURSDAY, APRIL 14,2016
Aries (March 21-April
Ceramics Club opens doors for students
Enjoy sports, hobbies and diversions over the next few days. Practice your moves. Hang out with family and friends. Someone attractive is drawing you into their orbit ... kindle a spark
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
Richard James, a third-ear graduate student from Bloomington, Ind., works on a ceramics project.
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Speak out, and your message goes further today and tomorrow. Stand up for what's right. Support comes from unexpected directions. Actions and words get a power boost.
Domestic projects satisfy over the next two days. Use brains over brawn to resolve a household problem that will only grow more expensive with neglect. Manage structural issues.
Your communications get profitable. There's money to be made over the next few days. Write marketing copy. Get involved with promotions or social media. Make your pitch.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)
Enjoy the spotlight over the next two days. Take advantage of the microphone and ask for the change you want to see. Share convincing data. Others are listening.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
Look back for insight on the road ahead. Pay attention to your dreams over the next few days. Conclude arrangements and complete old projects. Note new plans, goals and deadlines.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Team projects go well over the next two days. Develop your strategies to win. Creativity swirls throughout the conversation. Write down what gets invented. Encourage each other.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
Take on greater responsibility over the next two days to surpass a hurdle or challenge. Express your feelings aloud. Let people know what you need. Come to a new understanding.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22- Des. 21)
Travel conditions look excellent today and tomorrow. Make sure the bills are paid first, and then pack your bags. Plan the itinerary in detail and reserve in advance. Get out with an interesting companion
Ryan Miller/KANSAN
Capricorn (Dec. 22- Jan.19)
Consider an investment in your own education. Focus on finances for the next two days. Confer with your team. Apply for scholarships or grants. Work all the angles.
the angles.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb.
Get expert assistance with a tricky job today and tomorrow. Long-distance support comes through. Think of clever ways to repay the favor. Use something you've been saving.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
Jump into a busy phase over the next two days. Make a shrewd move. Find what you need far away. Talk with your networks to find solutions and resources. Love energizes you.
▶ RYAN MILLER
@Ryanmiller_UDK
At the KU Ceramics Club, students do more than create art they create connections and opportunities.
Alexander Thierry, a second-year graduate student from St. Louis and club president, said building connections is a big focus for the club, which is one of the longest-running clubs on campus.
"That's one thing that's really important, not only just getting the techniques and meeting new people, but it's also being able to expand our connections a little bit broader than KU," Thierry said.
Over the course of the school year the ceramics clubs hosts various artists, shows, and sales. They also attend conferences. Each semester, Thierry said the club tries to bring in at least one visiting artist and this semester they were able to bring in 15.
Recently, the club participated in a pre-conference event for the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA). The club brought in various visiting artists from all over the world.
Thierry said on one of the demonstration days, artists from China, Costa Rica, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand and Australia all showed their work at the same time.
"It was just like madness to see all these different people doing different things, it was crazy," Thierry said. "And the more times that we can raise enough money or sell enough things to bring those kind of perspectives to the studio is just going above and beyond for the students."
Thierry said visiting artists help bring more diversity and perspectives to their studio on campus.
"I think that even though our program is pretty good and there's a nice roundness to the kinds of projects
students do," Thierry said. "I think that we can always improve on bringing outside perspectives and other ways of making things to the studio."
The club also raises funds from student senate and sales to travel to the NCECA conference every year, which is one of the largest gathering of artists in the world.
"We have discussions, demonstrations, there's a bunch of shows that are attached to it, and it's just one big ceramics convention," Thierry said.
Thierry said he joined the club partly because he spent so much time in the studio. He also wanted to build more connections between graduate students and undergraduate students.
"It's good to have this kind of camaraderie between undergrads and graduate students and then all of us working together to get to these goals we have of like going to these conferences and being a part of that community," he said.
Sydney Goldman, a junior from Spring Hill and a member of the club, said she enjoys the opportunities the club provides and the help undergraduate students receive from graduate students.
It was just like madness to see all these different people doing different things, it was crazy."
Alexander Thierry graduate student
"It's hard to get your name out there. They really help to get us started getting our names out there as undergrads, and they [graduate students] have a lot of encouragement. There's a lot of experience that we can really tap into," Goldman said.
Thierry said he hopes club members take away the experience of being around
so many different types of ceramics in the club.
"The experience of being around so many different ceramic people and having the connections that are made. [Having] all these different opportunities that then become a network that gets bigger for that student," he said.
Goldman said one big take away from the club so far has been learning that ceramic artists cover a wide variety of spectrums.
"Everyone has their own avenue and you don't have to be a cookie cutter," Goldman said. "There are so many ways to do pottery and so many ways to be successful in it."
The KU Ceramics Club will have a show and sale on 840 Massachusetts St. on Friday, April 29 during April's Final Fridays.
Edited by Shane Jackson
Contributed Photo/KANSAN
Contributed Photo/KANSAN Two members of KU Swing Society dance together.
Swing Society brings high energy to campus
RYAN MILLER
@Ryanmiller_UDK
Swing dancing may be nearly a century old, but the tradition is alive and well at the University through the KU Swing Society.
KU Swing Society teaches and features different dances and partner dances, including: Lindy hop, Charleston, East Coast swing, Balboa, Collegiate shag. Heel shag and Blues.
Valerie Kutchko, a senior from Merriam and the vice president of the club, said swing dancing is a high
energy dance with lots of options to do with it.
"There's tons of things you can do with it, it's very improvisational, and all the music is really upbeat, which is great," Kutchko said.
Jason Gevargizian, a doctoral student from Leawood, and current president of the club, said the group meets weekly during the year, including off campus during school breaks. The meetings usually consist of a lesson, then a practice.
"It's fairly casual. It's a
good time to give dancers feedback, because typically during a dance it's more formal, you don't want to bring feedback onto the table there." Gevargizian said.
Around once a month, Gevargizian said the swing society tries to hold a formal dance either off campus, or on campus in places like the ballroom in the Kansas Union or the dance pavilion near Potter Lake. The group's previous end-of-semester dance was held at the Pavilion.
"We bring in instructors from around the nation, and these people are pretty world class instructors, way better than I," Gevargizian said.
He said the event draws people from around Kansas and other states as well. It includes workshops for dancers at beginner, inthe band was there and [we] had a ton of fun," Gevargizian said.
"It was a really nice night overlooking the lake and
"Rock Chalk Swing really is our highlight, it is probably the most fun, the best time of the year where things get a lot more stressful, particularly for the officers and myself. But it all really pays off, which is the most exciting part," Gevar-
termediate and advanced levels. The event includes both night dances and late night dances. This year's Rock Chalk Swing was held during Valentine's Day weekend.
+
SEESWING PAGE 7