College of the Ozarks will display the artistic work of Eric Ordway, lecturer of ceramic art at Truman State University, until Oct. 7, in the Boger Art Gallery

INTERNAL EVENT ONLY -

POINT LOOKOUT, MO. — College of the Ozarks will display the artistic work of Eric Ordway, lecturer of ceramic art at Truman State University, until Oct. 7, in the Boger Art Gallery. Located inside Jones Learning Center, the Boger Art Gallery is open to the campus community Monday - Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Vessels of Contemplation

The exhibit, titled “Vessels of Contemplation,” has been left open to interpretation of the viewer. Shelby Moore, senior public relations and painting double major and Boger Art Gallery assistant, said Ordway did not want to explicitly label the show as a Christian art exhibit.

“There are many horizontal lines on the pieces where he adds vertical lines that could symbolize the divinity of our faith; God coming down Jacob’s ladder, meeting us in the horizontal,” Moore said. “A cup could also symbolize community, something intimate that brings together people in an atmosphere where relationships are built, and conversations are had. You see that theme expressed in multiple ways throughout the gallery.”

The exhibit is laid out with larger pieces anchoring the visual structure of the exhibit. Pieces such as tea pots and cups sit across from one another, balancing the exhibit with complementary colors. Columns support pieces in symmetrical rows throughout the center of the gallery.

About Eric Ordway

Ordway was first exposed to ceramics at Moberly Area Community College. He continued studying ceramics at Colorado State University-Pueblo, where he found a connection to soda firing and functional pottery.

After graduating with a bachelor of fine arts in ceramics, Ordway moved back to Missouri to work as a post-baccalaureate student at the University of Missouri.

Ordway moved on to work as a resident artist at Morean Center for Clay in St. Petersburg, Florida, and began firing wood kilns of differing designs. He also took on the responsibilities of a studio technician, gallery attendant, ceramics instructor, and show curator. Ordway also taught upper-division students ceramics at Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa, Florida.

After returning to Columbia, Missouri, to pursue a master of fine art, Ordway experimented with a variety of technical processes, primarily focusing on thrown and altered ceramic vessels at the University of Missouri. He has exhibited his work in juried and invitational shows both on a regional and national level.

Ordway currently lives in Columbia, Missouri, with his wife, Chelsea.