If thoughts of vases and teapots conjure images of flowers and tea parties, visiting the ceramics show currently on display in the Contemporary Art Gallery will offer a different perspective.
The exhibit, which opened on June 6, features the works from a wide variety of ceramic artists from across the country, each having a connection to Southeastern in some shape or form.  As to be expected, the pieces on display are as varied as the artists themselves.
While some pieces are of a more traditional and elegant design, like Bryce Briscoe’s vases and vessels, some bend the rules and dwell on the edge of the medium, like Ovidio Giberga’s vivid and surreal sculptures that also function as vessels.
“It’s a vase because you can pour water, or whatever, into it, but it’s also a full human-figured form, and you have his other piece which is a foot form,” Dale Newkirk, the gallery’s director, said on Giberga’s displayed pieces. “He’s using that in the loosest sense, that it’s a vase.”
There are also pieces inspired by examples of urns and amphorae that have survived through the ages, coming from the ancient days of the art form in Greece and the Roman Empire. The works of James Brashear and Jeff Brown on display resemble amphorae used to transport goods such as wine, oil and grain across the Mediterranean Sea in ancient times. One such piece by Brashear, titled “Vessel Two,” was created specifically for the university’s collection and appears as two separate vessels joined as one.
Of all these artists, none has a closer connection to Southeastern than alumnus Trent Hebert. Like Giberga, Hebert’s tea set, cups, plates and cake stand also blend mediums and bend the rules, but in a less obvious way.
“When Trent was in school here he was really interested in the kind of Dick and Jane characters; the figures you see on his pieces here are drawn from that style,” said Newkirk. “He’s using ceramics and their ability to have glazes, color and to be drawn on as a way to create his own drawing surface. He’s making these functional things, but then they have these pictures, which have content.”
The question is obvious: why not just draw the pictures on paper, or paint them on canvas? The answer is that you cannot serve tea out of a painting on canvas, much less a pencil drawing on paper. The functionality of Hebert’s work adds a subtlety to its intent that a painter or sketch artist would be hard pressed to match.
“The content kind of sneaks up on you,” said Newkirk. “You’re having your tea, and then you see the children on the pieces doing these things. His work has subtle social content as well; there’s awkwardness to the figures and some references to sexual content. He’s messing with a number of things.”
The struggle to make an audience see a unique, extraordinary work of art where they would normally see a vase or a plate comes with being a ceramic artist. However, this struggle is what often motivates many ceramic artists.  
“Some ceramicists are really married to this idea of making a really beautiful, functional and traditional ceramic vessel; a cup, plate or whatever it is. That’s what they’re interested in,” said Newkirk. “Others use it more as a point of departure, as a place to start to make a sculptural form, but it still has a functional aspect. They’re trying to challenge the idea of functionality, asking ‘Why does it need to be functional?’ or ‘How can I use that function to enhance the content of the work?'”
The exhibit is open to the public free of charge and will be on display until August 30, allowing for plenty of time to view the works of Giberga, Hebert and many others. Photos showcasing a select few of the show’s pieces can be viewed on the Southeastern Contemporary Art Gallery’s Facebook page.