NORTH CANTON — A new ceramics exhibit at the Kent State University Stark campus is available to the public this fall.

“Wood, Fire and Ashes,” a series of wood-fired sculptures, was constructed by Kent State students and faculty and fired in the Kirkagama Kiln.

Jack McWhorter, associate professor of art at Kent State Stark, helped coordinate the exhibit. He said that the gallery is a piece of contemporary work.

“They actually built this kiln outdoors, literally stoking it with wood,” McWhorter said. “It’s kind of a low-temperature firing process that helps the students achieve some very dynamic results.”

McWhorter said that several of the artists were involved in the Blossom Program, a two-week intensive art workshop in the summer that consists of undergraduate and graduate students. Artists from around the country help students focus on learning, experimentation and creativity.

In June, the students worked with Kent State ceramics professor Eva Kwong, who played a big role in the creation of the wood-fired exhibit, said McWhorter.

“Our wood kiln has been an important element in our program,” Kwong said in a recent statement about the exhibit. “It not only helps people understand the usage of fire to transform things in our lives from pottery to sculpture to food to metals, it also transforms lives.”

“Wood, Fire and Ashes,” located in the first-floor gallery of the Main Hall of Kent State Stark, is receiving positive feedback from students.

“I thought the exhibit was very insightful,” said Morgan Barba, junior visual communication design major. “I really enjoyed the different aspect that the wood kiln had to bring to the design of the sculptures.”

The exhibit runs until Sept. 27 and is free and open to the public. To learn more about the exhibit, call the KSU Stark Art Department at (330)244-5151 or visit www.stark.kent.edu.

Contact Kianna Bugglin at [email protected].