Unconventional ceramic artwork is the theme of the opening of Gallery 181’s 2000-2001 exhibition season, and it includes pieces constructed in botanical shapes or made with hair and sand. “Earthly Delights: Clay Beyond Tradition” opened at the Design Center’s gallery last Friday and runs until Sept. 23. The show features five artists who create ceramic forms that go beyond traditional styles of the medium. Ingrid Lilligren, associate professor of ceramics, coordinated the event. She explained the purpose of the show is to expose students to the work of five artists that made a living working just with ceramics. “I made a proposal that I would select five different artists who were studio artists, but whose work represented a range of approaches from functional to sculptural,” Lilligren said. One artist featured in the show is Lynn Bowers from Kansas City, Mo. Bowers has worked with ceramics since she graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1975. She creates wheel-thrown stoneware, such as pitchers and platters, from designs that come mostly from nature. Each piece is practical for everyday use in the kitchen. “The idea of it functioning is important to me,” Bowers said. “I don’t think because it’s functional it can’t be art.” New York state native Liz Biddle has been working seriously with ceramics for the past 15 years. An artist with a strong painting and drawing background, she creates pieces that resemble animal and botanical forms. “My earthly creations, nurtured or risen from the sea, become strangely alien with lives of their own,” Biddle said. Also featured in the show is Sana Krusoe, an artist from Eugene, Ore., who incorporates materials such as hair, dirt and salt into her work. St. Petersburg, Fla., artist Brian Ransom designs musical instruments into human form, and Athens, Ohio, native Brad Schwieger’s work features wheel-thrown vessels that he alters into nonfunctional pieces. The contrast is great between each of the artists’ work, and the pieces also break from conventional ceramic styles. “When you say ceramics, people often think, `Oh you know, bowls and vases and things.’ That’s why it’s kind of exciting to do this show, which breaks out of the tradition,” Lilligren said. Bowers will be in town Sept. 9 to put on a public workshop. She will demonstrate several of her techniques and discuss her work. It will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the ceramics studio at the Design Center. Lilligren will be giving a gallery talk on the show on Thursday, Sept. 14, at 4 p.m. in the gallery. The speeches are free and open to the public. “Earthly Delights: Clay Beyond Tradition” will be open until Sept. 23. Gallery 181 is open Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The gallery will be closed Sept. 4 for Labor Day.