UT Tyler Office of Marketing and Communications

UT Tyler Students Place First in National Ceramic Arts Exhibition

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June 18, 2019

Media Contact: Beverley Golden
Senior Director of Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
903.566.7303

The University of Texas at Tyler has announced that two of its students won top awards at the 2019 National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts Juried Student Exhibition.

UT Tyler art students Lilah Shepherd and Jessica Sanders placed first in the undergraduate and graduate categories, respectively. Sanders also received the Studio Potter Best in Show Award.

They were among 12 undergraduate and 19 graduate students whose entries were chosen for the exhibition, held in the Minneapolis, Minnesota.

"This was a very competitive exhibition, with over 530 pieces submitted by 312 artists for consideration,'' said Professor Merrie Wright, associate professor and chair of the UT Tyler Department of Art and Art History. "We are extremely proud of Lilah and Jessica, not only for having works selected for the exhibition, but also for winning the highest awards at a national exhibition. This really speaks to the excellent quality of the studio art programs at UT Tyler."

Shepherd, who graduated in May with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in studio art, was awarded for her entry titled is "Assemblage 001,'' composed of 25 stoneware and porcelain forms.

Sanders, a student in the Master of Arts/Master of Fine Arts program, was awarded for her entry consisting of individual ceramic triangles that were connected and manipulated for wall display.

A member of the prestigious UT System, The University of Texas at Tyler focuses on student success and innovative research in the more than 80 undergraduate and graduate degree programs offered. With more than 10,000 students, UT Tyler has facilities in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.