Saint John’s Pottery to host two resident artists in June

Heidi Lau of New York City and Richelle Soper of Minneapolis have been selected as the 2018 recipients of the Saint John’s Pottery Jerome Foundation Emerging Artist Program. Lau and Soper will create ceramic art while in residence June 1-30 at Saint John’s Pottery.

Lau and Soper were selected to receive support from the Jerome Foundation through an extensive panel review. The panelists included Richard Bresnahan, director and artist-in-residence at The Saint John’s Pottery; Ben Jose, fine arts fabricator in Mechanicville, New York, and a previous Jerome Emerging Artist awardee; and Jenny Nilles, University of Minnesota professor emerita of sculpture.

Lau’s ceramics and works on paper have been exhibited nationally and internationally in venues such as the Macao Museum of Art, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Museum of Chinese in America, Socrates Sculpture Park and many others. She incorporates memories and aesthetics from her childhood in Macao into her sculptural work, which she plans to develop further during her residency.

Soper is a graduate of the MFA program at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, with a background in functional ceramics as well as conceptual sculpture. She has participated in exhibitions in Minnesota, New York and North Carolina, including at the Franconia Sculpture Park, the A.I.R. Gallery and the Weatherspoon Museum. Her residency plans include developing a functional ceramics portfolio, as well as the effect of wood firing on her machine-inspired sculptures.

The Saint John’s Pottery Jerome Foundation Emerging Artist Program is made possible through a Jerome Foundation Program Grant. The Jerome Foundation, created by artist and philanthropist Jerome Hill, supports the development and creation of new works by emerging artists in Minnesota and New York City.

The Saint John’s Pottery embodies the Benedictine values of community, hospitality and self- sufficiency as well as SJU’s commitment to the integration of art and life, the preservation of the environment and the celebration of diverse cultures. For more information, contact Ryan Kutter, studio manager, at 320-363-2930.