If you thought that nothing interesting happens at Vol State during the summer, you thought wrong. Audry Deal-McEver is a clay artist based out of Nashville, TN, and her work is currently being featured in Vol State’s Humanities building from May 16th to July 22nd. Audry has a degree in Ceramic Studio Arts from Ohio University and has also studied at Die Burg Giebichenstein School of Art and Design in Germany. Her work has been featured in over 60 exhibits across the U.S., including the American Museum of Ceramic Art, the Reese Museum of Fine Art, the Disjecta Contemporary Arts Center, the Nashville International Airport, and more. Audry currently teaches at Belmont University's Watkins College of Art’s Community Education program and privately out of her home studio.
Over the past few years, Audry has been studying different botanical symbols seen throughout history. In her own interpretation, she carves these symbols into white clay to create beautiful ornate vessels, which are featured in this art exhibit.
“The work in this exhibit was mostly inspired by historic textiles from India,” she said. “Given that it was mostly created during the pandemic, I satiated my wanderlust by trying to follow the voyage of these botanical motifs across the world as they were spread through trade. Many of the forms also come from hours spent on Google Maps taking virtual tours of architecture from the same era.”
You can take a look at some of Audry’s work on the first floor of SRB in room 100 on the Gallatin campus. This exhibit is free and open to the public from May 16th, 8:00am to July 22nd, 4:30pm. For more information, visit Vol State's Art Gallery web page.
