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arts & culture
KANSAN.COM | MONDAY, SEPT. 26, 2016
Aries
Aries (March 21-April 19) The truth is revealed, with Pluto direct today. Illusions and clouds of confusion dissipate. Research new professional ideas and opportunities. Mysteries finally resolve. You see the ladder rung clearly
Taurus
(April 20-May 20) Long-distance travel, communications and shipping flow with greater ease, now that Pluto is direct in Capricorn. It just got easier to take new territory. Save
Gemini
(May 21-June 20)
Assets you've had hidden finally start to grow. Record keeping is getting easier.
Invest for long-term growth, especially now that Pluto is direct. It's easier to make
money.
Cancer July 22
(June 21-July 22)
Grow long-term bonds and partnerships stronger, now that Pluto is direct. Suddenly, you understand each other better. New methods and equipment make your collaboration easier. Share
the load
Leo
July 23-Aug.22)
(July 23-Aug. 22)
An aspect of work or health that was invisible to you comes into focus, with Pluto direct. You can see farther. Wisdom comes from near and far.. Count your blessings.
Virgo
(Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
Obstacles and barriers to love seem to dissolve, now that Pluto is direct. Distant objectives come into view.
Take your romance or passion to the next step.
Kaila Trollope/KANSAN
Libra
(Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Launch new home renovations or relocations now that Pluto has stationed direct.
Longterm family goals come into focus. Set up your household structures to support them.
Morgan Barton, a senior ceramics major from Shawnee, specializes in "functional pottery." His work will be on display in Chalmers Hall until Sept. 30.
Scorpio
(Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Your communications go farther, with Pluto direct. Write, record and publish Put a positive spin on a difficult situation. Share solutions. Talk about the
future
Saaittarius
(Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
You're much more effective at growing financial accounts now that Pluto is direct. Your money goes farther. What was cloudy is becoming clear. Assume authority. Revisie estimates and budgets
and budgets.
Capricorn
(Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
Now that Pluto is direct in your sign, initiatives from long ago seem newly possible. You can advance much quicker now that the road is clear. Revive a personal
Aquarius
(Aquat. 10-26)
(Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Inquire into deep philosophical and spiritual questions, with Pluto direct. Complete old business. A dream returns to capture your thoughts. Make long-term plans and map your vision.
Pisces
(Feb. 19-March 20) Launch a project to make a difference in your community, with Pluto direct. Group objectives are becoming more attainable, and long-term benefit is possible. Strengthen friendship bonds.
Morgan Barton, ceramist
▶ COURTNEY BIERMAN
@courtbierman
n the basement of Chalmers Hall, tucked into a corner of the ceramics department, there's a dusty room lined with shelves that hold dozens of clay plates, pitchers, bowls and pieces that aren't as easy to identify. Many of the pieces in the room belong to Morgan Barton, a senior from Shawnee studying ceramics, who uses the room as an art studio.
Barton is a potter who specializes in "functional pottery"—things like mugs that serve a purpose other than just being something to look at. He said the signature feature of his pottery is the curved groove he adds instead of a handle. Little, if any of his work, has a handle. It's a way for the people who use his work to
interact more closely with it—an idea Barton said was partially inspired by his first ceramics professor at Emporia State University.
"She said that as potters we're like choreographers because every move that you're making while you're making a piece has a direct correlation to the way the person will interact with it once you get it off the wheel," Barton said. "And as soon as you pick up one of my pieces, your hands immediately go to all the places that I've touched before."
It took Barton a while to decide he wanted to study ceramics. After graduating high school in Shawnee, Barton enrolled at Emporia State to study education and become an art teacher. When he came to Lawrence to visit a friend who was then a University ceramics student, Barton liked it so much that he decided to
The University has three types of kilns for firing pottery: gas, electric and wood. Gas and electric kilns generally burn at a consistent temperature. Wood kilns usually burn hotter toward the front, meaning they produce
transfer.
Barton said he's excited about the gallery, not only because it allows him to display his art as a student, but also because it marks how he's been "winning a lot more than losing lately."
less predictable results. Pieces fired in wood kilns are more likely to break or be ruined by soda ash—a chemical used during firing. Some artists, including Barton, like the unpredictability of wood kilns.
By his estimation, Barton spends 40 or 50 hours per week in Chalmers Hall outside of classes. His art has accumulated to the point that he's running out of shelf space. Graduate student and Ceramics Club President Alex Thierry offered Barton a way to make room for new pieces and also have an opportunity for exposure. Thierry and Barton cleared out a storage room on the main floor of Chalmers Hall and turned it into a mini gallery, which is currently on display until Sept. 30.
"That's kind of what I like about it because you put all of this work in on a piece and all this preparation, and then you just put it in a kiln and you kind of have to just take a step back and let the flames do what it will," he said.
"It's such an art student thing to do, to see sort of
an empty space
that's clearly being
neglected and
to say 'you
k n o w
w h a t ,
this is an
opportunity to show some work," Sarah Gross, an assistant professor in the School of the Arts and Barton's advanced ceramics teacher, said.
Gross said Barton is one of the hardest workers in the studio. Barton had an internship in the department last summer, during which Gross said his artistry progressed substantially.
"I'm really proud of how Morgan's work has developed and how he's taken ownership of the choices he makes in the studio from ideas and development to seeing things through with the firings and the kilns, which are so labor-intensive," Gross said.
Sculptures have increasingly become a part of Barton's portfolio. The largest piece in his studio is an amorphous column that
developed out of a mistake when he was trying to throw a pitcher. He kept adding more clay until he ended up with something totally different. He liked the piece enough to start making amoeba-shaped sculptures on purpose. The gallery upstairs is now filled with those sculptures, and he plans to enter a few of them in upcoming art shows.
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"It's like mistakes aren't always mistakes," he said.
-Edited by Lexanna Sims
Kaila Trollope/KANSAN
Morgan Barton works on throwing in his studio in the basement of Chalmers Hall.
Kaita Trollope/KANSAN Barton displays work, including mugs and vases, in his studio.
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