Visiting artist Martha Grover to speak and demonstrate her porcelain technique

The University of Southern Indiana's Art and Design Department will host visiting artist Martha Grover, an internationally-renowned potter specializing in the creation of eloquent, organic, functional porcelain pieces. Grover's lecture, "Art as Career in the 21st Century," will be held from 6 to 7 p.m., Thursday, September 15 in Kleymeyer Hall in the Liberal Arts Center. She will hold workshops from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 15 and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on September 16 in the Dowhie Ceramics Center on campus. The lecture and workshops are free and open to the public.

Grover lives in Bethel, Maine, and has been a self-employed artist since 2007. She received her bachelor's degree in architecture from Bennington College in Vermont and her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.

"I work toward creating a sense of elegance for the user while in contact with each porcelain piece," said Grover. "Reminiscent of orchids, flowing dresses and the body, the work has a sense of familiarity and preciousness. Transmitting desire - there is a sense of revealing and concealing."

Her work has been featured in numerous galleries including the Archie Bray Foundation Warehouse Gallery in Helena, Montana; the Charlie Cummings Gallery in Gainesville, Florida; and the Sarah Coyne Gallery in Syracuse, New York. Her art has been spotlighted in magazines such as American Craft, Times Record News, Ceramics Monthly and Clay Times. She has traveled across the United States as a visiting artist holding workshops and has garnered multiple awards for her work.

"In our lives, we often move past the objects surrounding us at a very quick pace," said Grover. "My work generates a moment to pause. Only through sustained interaction can we truly know and appreciate someone or something."

More of her work can be found on her website: www.marthagrover.com.

For more information, contact Al Holen, assistant professor of ceramics, at 812-228-5127 or aiholen@usi.edu.