University Star

Texas State students will glimpse into the world of professional pottery through insight and instruction Monday when distinguished studio potter Ayumi Horie pays a visit to the School of Art and Design.

For more than a decade, Horie has established herself as an accomplished independent artist, entrepreneur and activist through the art of studio pottery while giving lectures and demonstrations throughout the U.S. and abroad.  Now, Horie will teach Texas State students how they can become successful in independent art with the use of business skills and social media.

“Because the internet is such a direct link to people, I feel like anything can happen,” Horie said.  

Her take on passion fueling one’s accomplishments and use of the internet as a tool proved true in her relief efforts following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake in Japan.  She co-founded the organization Handmade for Japan, raising $100,000 through ceramic-based art auctions. The charity contributed to disaster relief in Japan through the non-profit organization GlobalGiving.

Texas State’s ceramics students selected Horie in the spring of 2012 as a speaker worthy of delivering a meaningful message to the student body because of her success in art and fundraising efforts,

“We’ll get to see someone who’s active in their community and a model for small artists or people with small businesses,” said Will Wilson, studio art senior and president of the Ceramic Arts Student Association.

Wilson was involved in putting together the funding to bring Horie to Texas State, along with the University Lecturers and School of Art and Design Visiting Artists Committees.

Michel Conroy, having served on the board of directors of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts for seven years, gained exposure to artists in the pottery field, including Horie. 

“There’s a character and personality to her work which she wants to contribute to the atmosphere of when people get together,” Conroy, Art and Design professor, said.

Conroy felt one of the strongest attributes of contemporary potters is they are utopian in their approach to impacting people’s lives. She said by creating objects used in a social setting, potters are in fact adding to people’s conversations, which will stand as a crucial point of Horie’s lecture.  

“The goal with a lecture like this is promoting the value of handmade work,” Horie said. “When we can make a connection from a maker to a user, we can, in some sense, make our world more human.”