Enriching the Arts
Ceramic artist Beth Lo calls the arts a labor of love. Lo, ceramics professor at UM, has been making art and teaching others how to do it for more than 20 years. And in that time she’s seen the significant impacts of generous contributions to the College of Visual and Performing Arts.
“We are operating on shoestring budgets,” she says. “Any support, especially support with flexibility, is helpful.”
Cordelia Raymond, a senior ceramics student, says students are directly impacted by contributions to the school.
“We see the support of the community through our annual Christmas sale where students sell their pottery. We use that money to bring in visiting artists and travel to the national ceramic conference,” she says. “We have tight funding in our department, but since I’ve been at the school we have purchased five or more new electric wheels which allows us to have a throwing class of 20 people.” Donors helped the ceramics department purchase the electric wheels and other equipment in the new glaze area.
One donor to the College knows firsthand the kind of support an artist needs. Leonard Stach came to UM in the 1960s to study with Rudy Autio, a master ceramicist who served as chair of the ceramics department for more than 28 years. In those days, Autio, who died in 2007, was a draw for many students, including Lo, who studied with him as well. Stach graduated from UM in 1965, but he never forgot his experience in Missoula. In 1996, he became a consistent, stalwart supporter of the College.
His gifts have established three endowments that fund graduate student scholarships, faculty professional development and a flexible pool of money for the ceramics department.
Gifts from supporters like Stach also serve art students by providing funds for visiting artists. These connections with artists can be one of the most significant experiences an art student might have.
Stach’s gifts strike a personal chord, Lo says, because he is an artist, too.
“Even those artists who are making it are often not wealthy by any means,” she says. “But appreciation of art as either a maker or supporter is a wonderful thing.”
To make a donation Ceramics, or to another area in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, please fill out the form below:
