Gift-giving holidays have a way of sneaking up on people unexpectedly and Valentine’s Day is no exception. This year, Marshall University’s Clay Club members are hoping to make it just a bit easier for students to gather the perfect presents in time.
The Clay Club will be hosting a Sweetheart Sale Feb. 6-11 in an effort to raise funds for out-of-town travel opportunities and new art materials, selling baked goods and ceramic crafts handmade by the artists.
“We’re definitely trying to make this an annual event for us,” said junior art major and Clay Club member, Kelsie Tyson. “We’re offering lots of pottery with Valentine’s themes. We also have little planters with soil and seeds, so you can plant a flower for your loved one, as well as a bake sale. These are all contributions from Clay Club members.”
The club will use proceeds from the sale to fund its travel and attendance at this year’s National Council on Education in the Ceramics Arts Conference, which will be held next month in Kansas City, Missouri.
“NCECA is the only conference of its kind, with guest artists, and art lecture – It’s a great event for aspiring artists of all sorts,” Tyson said. “Members of the Clay Club have been before. We try to make the event yearly, because you can meet so many artist friends and get to work with other people. It’s a really important networking event and you can also get tons of inspiration.”
Though the Clay Club is an inherently art-based group, Tyson said it is open to all Marshall students, regardless of major.
The Sweetheart Sale will be held Feb. 9-10 at downtown’s Visual Arts Center and Feb. 11 in Marshall’s Memorial Student Center from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. In addition to the sale, the club will also help sponsor the Huntington Empty Bowls event April 15, with proceeds benefitting the Facing Hunger Food Bank.
“One of the biggest fundraisers we have is Huntington Empty Bowls with First Presbyterian Church,” Tyson said. “As a club, we try to get together and plan trips to visit galleries and museums, and bring in guest artists to help teach at Marshall. We try to get together and plan trips to visit galleries and museums and bring in guest artists to help teach at Marshall.”
Marshall’s Visual Arts Center is located in downtown Huntington, across from Pullman Square.
Lukas Hagley can be contacted at [email protected].