Southern Miss Workshop, Lecture to Feature Artist Brett Kern

The University of Southern Mississippi's Department of Art and Design will hold a visiting artist workshop featuring ceramic artist and professor Brett Kern. The free workshop will be held on the Hattiesburg campus at the 3D Arts Building Oct. 19-21, and is open to the public.

On Monday, Oct. 19 the workshop will feature an all-day demonstration by Kern beginning at 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. A lunch break is included. At 5 p.m., Kern will give a public lecture about his life, education and his work, which features clay and glaze. Some of his pieces resemble inflatable balloons.

The workshop continues Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 11 a.m. with a wheel-throwing demonstration and conclude Wednesday, Oct. 21 with workshop sessions beginning at 10 a.m.

Beginning as a graphic design major in college, Kern discovered his interest in ceramics. He currently serves as an adjunct professor at Davis & Elkins College in West Virginia along with teaching ceramic classes and showing on a regional and national level. Kern's work features pop culture from the late 1980s and 1990s.

The Department of Art and Design, in collaboration with Partners for the Arts, is excited about this workshop because of the increasing interest in Kern's work, said faculty member Allen Chen.

“Brett is very popular right now. He is engaging and his art is playful, and it will be cool to say he was here,” Chen said. “The students are going to get a lot out of it. Brett will narrate a story line and path that is relevant to where our students are in their careers.”

For information about the Southern Miss Department of Art and Design, visit http://www.usm.edu/visual-arts.