Delta’s 15th annual Visions in Clay exhibition opened on Aug. 29 and runs through Sept. 20.
American visual artist Kevin Snipes was this year’s exhibition juror to decide which pieces won the show awards.
This year there were 36 artists, some all the way from New York, and some native to Stockton, displaying 45 pieces of work.
Mia Hill, one of the presenting artists who is native to Stockton, displayed a piece titled “Baggage.”
“In a way I refer to nostalgia, sentiments, or keepsakes,” Hill said. “I think of the little moments or objects that may seem insignificant from an outside perspective.”
Hill got her start in painting but said once she got her hands on clay she felt more passion.
“Though frustrating at times also, clay still captures me at every level of the endless possibilities and processes,” Hill said.
On top of living in Stockton for most of her life, Hill is also a Delta alumni.
Hill said being a local as well as a Delta alumni encourages her more to apply to shows the college hosts.
“It is always a pleasure to have my work being shown at Delta College,” Hill said.
Art lovers one and all were present at the Visions in Clay reception to admire the pieces on display.
“There’s a bunch of great work in there right now,” Stockton resident Alazar Abraham said.
Abraham said he considers himself a musician, a thinker, and a maker, he came to the reception to enjoy its pieces.
“The fun thing about art is that the artist’s intention is unbinded from the object that they make so sometimes I feel like they’re speaking to me, sometimes I have my own experience, and sometimes there’s no relationship,” Abraham said.
Abraham said he was excited about much of the art in the gallery, taking a particular interest in the pots.
“A lot of the time in ceramics you see people turning their noses up at what we call functional ware, cups and bowls and pots, so it’s nice to see some cool ones in there too,” Abraham said.
Hill’s piece was of a bag with various different designs on it with a chain nailed into both sides.
“I find bits and pieces of my art being influenced by my home and surroundings here in Stockton,” Hill said.
Hill also said that other places where she gains inspiration are in the lively botanicals in her grandma’s garden, as well as the colorful street art in downtown Stockton.
“I’ve lived in Stockton most of my life, and it’s shaped me into who I am as a whole,” Hill said “Stockton also has a lot of diversity which I’m grateful to have grown up around.”
Correction: The captions for two photos with the initial version of this article were inadvertently switched.
