The Foundation Gallery at Rogers State University in Claremore will feature the work of renowned Tulsa sculptor Laurie Spencer during an exhibit running Jan. 25 through Feb. 16. An opening reception will be held from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 25 in the gallery, which is located in Baird Hall on RSU’s Claremore campus.
For Spencer, growing up in a small town in Oklahoma cultivated a love of nature inspired by her mother. The exhibition will feature her sculptures that she describes as being based on nature’s forms and the richness of life. Her work has also evolved into ceramic whistles that produce organic sounds. “I am interested in using sound as the voices of the sculptures,” she said. “It is a means of giving my pieces a sense of life.”
The exhibit is free and open to the public and will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Spencer teaches ceramic arts at Holland Hall schools in Tulsa. She has also been awarded teaching residencies for the Americans for the Arts, Community Residency Exchange Program in Ireland and the Lila Wallace-Readers Digest International Artist Program Grant and Arts International in Ecuador. She earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Tulsa.
Her work has been exhibited internationally and featured in several books, such as “Alternative Kilns,” “Architectural Ceramics for the Studio Potter” and “Handbuilt Ceramics,” in addition to articles in “Ceramics Monthly” magazines.
Her metal sculpture, the Philodendron Dome, can be seen at the Myriad Botanical Gardens in Oklahoma City. The sculpture was the result of a $40,000 commission provided by Artworks 1, an Oklahoma City public art project. Spencer has also received several other awards including the New Forms Regional Initiative Grant (NFRIG) and a Fellowship Award in Crafts from the Mid-America Arts Alliance/National Endowment for the Arts.
For more information on the exhibition, call 918-343-7740.