“8 Fluid Ounces” and Wheel Throwing Demonstration
Glassell Gallery
Baton Rouge
Through Dec. 12, 2025
“Ma’am, can you please step back from the art?” As a regular at art museums, I’ve been told some version of this by many security guards. It often feels like art museums have people making sure that people don’t breathe too close to the art, much less touch it. At the Glassel Gallery’s current show, people are invited not only to touch the art but to pick it up, turn it around and consider bringing it home.
“8 Fluid Ounces” is a biennial show at LSU which showcases ceramics art currently on display at the Glassell Gallery. All pieces are on sale. On Nov. 16, Lance Wilson, an LSU junior and president of the Ceramic Artist Student Association, gave a demonstration in the gallery, fielding suggestions for things to throw. He formed vases, orbs and even a chip and dip bowl turned bubble bowl on the spot. Once he was done, he invited people to smash the freshly thrown creations. It was an intimate and accessible way to experience wheel throwing — the art behind the cups featured in the gallery.
The gallery was guest-curated by ceramicist Ruth Easterbrook, who is based in Philadelphia. Wilson has long admired Easterbrook, noting that her work is the first stuff he gravitated to when looking for inspiration on sites like Pinterest early on.
“She’s like my ceramic god,” he said. “She got me into ceramics.”
Easterbrook, who has nine pieces in the show, is known for her unique glazing style. She uses glaze rather than underglaze for her work, Wilson explained, which means the colors of the flowers blend in a unique way.
According to Wilson, part of it is how one determines a “good” ceramics piece is the way it feels when you hold it.
“That’s what I love about this show – you actually get to hold the pieces,” he said. “You don’t have to just look at it and imagine holding it.”
Cups are a kind of art more accessible for people to buy (priced between $50-$100), but people are not often trusted to hold them. Museums often keep their ceramics in particular behind glass displays to ensure no mishaps happen. There’s something transgressive about walking up to a podium of art on display then picking up the art. Wilson is right: There’s something about actually holding it that can tell you a lot about a piece.
Chris Alveshere’s whimsical cups with spherical ornamentations are made with brightly colored porcelain. Visually, they look a little like small vases, but when you pick one up, you can feel the practicality of the piece. It’s lighter than anticipated, the cup fits comfortably in hand.
Some pieces in the show, like the work of David Swenson, are grittier than anticipated. Others look a little asymmetrical but offer a kind of comfortable weight. Easterbrook’s work has a watercolor quality to it that doesn’t come across in pictures. The colorful flowers pop over the black glaze, and the more you look at it, the more you kinda want to take one home with you.
