For three students exhibiting ceramic pottery in Patterson this week, attention to detail is a priority -- even to the point of hiding ceramic spiders in cups.
Jennifer Deca, a 2006 alumna of Bowling Green State University, is especially interested in tiny details, she said. Her work always contains surprises that people don't usually notice at first.
"I will put something small, like a spider, on the inside or bottom of the cup," she said. "You usually find them through use -- washing, eating, drinking out of it."
Deca will join Jacob Raeder and Lindsay Scypta in exhibiting their ceramic work together in the Patterson Gallery in Patterson Building this week. The exhibit, which opened Monday, focuses on functional ceramics and pottery and is on display through Saturday.
Deca said she also likes contrasting the serious and the playful in her ceramics, often pairing an inviting form with an uninviting image.
"It's like you want to touch it, but then you don't, but then you do," she said.
Raeder and Scypta also received their undergraduate degrees from other schools, and all three artists currently use the Penn State art studios as non-degree students before entering graduate school, Scypta said.
Raeder graduated from Alfred University in 2008 and has been at Penn State for less than a semester. He said his ceramics have transitioned from the sculptural to functional.
"One inspiration is fashion -- the idea of function as well as aesthetics," he said. "I'm working with the idea of colors and patterns and how they work together."
Scypta, who graduated from Alfred University in 2008, said her portion of the exhibit is a continuation of her undergraduate work. She said her inspirations range from fashion to Victorian tufted chairs.
"I'm really interested in the places two articles of clothing meet, a shirt to a belt, even where the body meets the clothing," she said.
The exhibit came to fruition quickly when a time slot opened unexpectedly in Patterson, Raeder said. He said the opportunity was too hard to pass up.
"It's important to see your work in a different space, in a different light," he said.
Scypta said the exhibit came together nicely despite the short amount of preparation time, adding their work is detailed in a number of different ways.
"But it is all ceramics, all functional," Scypta said.
