September 7, 2018
For the second consecutive year, the beautiful Borough of West Chester tops the 2018 list of Best College Towns according to HighSpeedInternet.com (HSI).As befits the entity that compiled the list, internet connectivity is a prime
factor they considered when they set their tool “The U.S. City You Should be Living
In” to search for criteria that should be important to college students. They also
evaluated low cost of living, walkability, low crime rate, and a predominantly single
and educated population. The algorithm uses data from sites across the web, including
Census.gov, Obrella.com, Safewise.com, C2ER, City-Data.com, Kelly Norton, and Walk
Score. “We adapted this tool to find cities with an ideal environment for college
students,” notes HSI staffer Rachel Oaks.
Fall Arts Season Opens with “Family Tree”
Assistant Professor of Ceramics Andrew Snyder opens the Fall Arts Season on campus with “Family Tree” in the E.O. Bull Center’s Baker Gallery through October 12.
An artist reception will be held on Wednesday, September 12, from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Monday – Friday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Saturday 12 – 4 p.m.
“Family Tree” is a time-based exhibit that will grow and change over time. As part of the exhibit, Snyder will work alongside 12 other artists –– his ceramics “brothers and sisters” –– to complete the work sometime between the second or third week of the show.
“Ceramics is a tradition passed down from generation to generation like any craft,” says Snyder. “I wanted to invite my mentors and peers, those who have been a part of my ceramics family, to throw with me. Throwing with them is time spent with them.”
Every bit of Snyder’s exhibit has personal meaning. He uses acrylic paint as the medium for throwing instead of water to capture his “marks of the day” on handmade stretchers adorned with fabrics. The fabrics are chosen because they remind him of friends and loved ones. His potter’s wheels are handmade of cast concrete and low to the ground, so that while working, his stance emulates kneeling. All this while throwing bowls, chosen because of their perceived simplicity.
“There is a therapeutic/meditative aspect to working with clay,” Snyder concludes. “It is repetitive and looks so easy, but it is very challenging. As I work, I think and meditate about people in my life and how they impacted me.”
Snyder will also exhibit this fall at Philadelphia’s Clay Studio September 7 – 24.
View the full season of WCU's Art + Design Exhibits and Events