Ebb and Flow is a juried exhibition of ceramic artworks by local artists that explores the inevitable cycle of life and death, and pulls inspiration from the past life of Kennedy Heights Arts Center’s physical building as a funeral home. This show coincides with The National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) in March 2023.

From the 1950s to around 2000, the building Kennedy Heights Arts Center now inhabits operated as the Stanley High Funeral Home. For decades, this organization provided the community with a vital service of supporting families in honoring the lives of their deceased loved ones. It is with our knowledge, understanding, and reverence for the past of this physical space that inspired the theme for this exhibition.

Ceramics have historically played a large part in funerary ritual practices and have provided insight into cultures around the world – as decorated urns, symbolic objects placed as gravesites, reliquaries for precious relics, and mementoes of loved ones. Clay is a material that holds memory, and there is an intimacy between the material and the maker. Coming from the earth, there is a connection between the material and the cycle of life.

The artworks on view are reflective of our history as a funeral home, while also delving into the complexity of death and how we respond to it as humans in these contemporary times. Our building has a rich history; one of the many reasons why our community rallied behind saving the building from demolition. With its past life as a funeral home, many residents still connect to our space on a personal and emotional level. Currently, the building has another life as art center, and the arts can play such a strong role in processing, coping, and expressing all of our thoughts, feelings, and emotions as we traverse through different life events – including death.

The title, Ebb and Flow refers to the passage of time, with all its ups and downs, and the cycle of life and death. Death is something that affects all of us, and we have a history with our building that gives us a special opportunity to showcase artworks that address this topic.

Exhibiting Artists: Margaret Ackerman, Scott Aleshire, Betsy Allaire, Erika NJ Allen, Sabrina Barilone, Susan Byrnes, Nina Caporale, Emily Casagrande-Pike, Sue Cline, Cori Crumrine, Laura Davis, Desi Distel, Kelly Frigard, Molly Green, Tina Gutierrez, Ian Hersko, Sage Hummel, Aaron Kent, Julia Lanham, Brandon Lowery, Emily Malott, John Mason (deceased), Jennifer Miller, Jessie Rienerth, Jill Ruschulte, Charity Rust-Jordan, Zach Sabatelli, Karen Saunders, Kateri Sparrow, Jon Stein, Ora Vichitchot, Jocelyn Coulter Welch, Amber Wood, Zoe Yates

Opening Reception: Saturday, February 4, 2023 from 6-8pm. Free, open to the public, light refreshments served.