FGCU 8th Annual Pottery Sale this Friday

COURTESY PHOTO Pottery artist Rinny Ryan at last year's Annual Holiday Pottery Sale on the campus of Florida Gulf Coast University. This year's event will be held on Friday, Nov. 30. A triple-header of art is being offered at the Arts Complex at Florida Gulf Coast University. Beginning at noon and on going until 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 30, the courtyard of the Arts Complex will open to pottery and art enthusiasts, holiday gift buyers, and community supporters. The courtyard will be decked out in the holiday finest, music will fill the air and Santa and Mrs. Claus will make an appearance from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. to hear wishes.

The event begins with the 8th Annual Holiday Pottery Sale coordinated with partner organization, Featuring potters from the Southwest Florida region as well as FGCU faculty, staff and students. This year's sale will feature pottery by Rinny Ryan, Barbara Haring, Annabelle Johnson, Angela Aradia, alumni student Haley Paula, faculty member Patricia Fay, plus the work of current students in ceramics and sculpture.

This year, FGCU is offering an additional event to be held during the Holiday Pottery Sale. Empty Bowls is a national phenomenon that unites potters, students, restaurants, and food banks to address the needs of the hungry in our local communities. The formula for fundraising is simple and sincere - potters and students make bowls, area restaurants donate soup and bread, and hunger assistance organizations provide education. For a $15 donation, visitors to the event will pick out the bowl they like best and fill it with the soup of their choice. After enjoying a "soup kitchen" style meal, the bowl is washed and taken home for use with the knowledge of having assisted needy members of your immediate communities. All of the proceeds will be given to Interfaith Caregivers in Estero.

The culminating event of the day will be the opening reception for the Senior Project Exhibitions. At the end of their studies, each Art major must complete a senior project in which he or she successfully plans, creates, and executes a body of work that is conceptually strong and technically proficient. The result of these projects are presented in a campus exhibition open to the university community and general public. This semester, Art major Harmony Rio offers a video installation entitled "Harmony in Red" which examines the relationship between the consumption of landscape and the objectification of the reclining Venus. Her work will be on view in the FGCU Printmaking Studio Gallery. Paul Sapito will be exhibiting his collection of work entitled "Sovereignty", a digital and watercolor illustration series featuring characters and creatures designed for a fantasy role-playing game.