In chemistry, the Greek prefix “tetra-” describes a group of four held together by a unique chemical reaction. For Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) assistant ceramics professor Leandra Urrutia, the word describes her newest collective of ceramic professors from A&M campuses across Texas—down to the alchemy between them. This October, experience TETRA’s magic firsthand during TAMU-CC’s Biennial Oso Bay Festival.
“We’re all so prolific anytime we come together,” Urrutia said. “I’m excited to share it, especially with our community who might not have the biggest art exposure. It’s important and inspirational to other people.”
The Oso Bay Festival happens every two years at TAMU-CC’s Weil Gallery and focuses on the various art disciplines offered by the university. When the department chair and new gallery director approached Urrutia about this year’s Oh So Ceramic exhibit, she embraced the opportunity to welcome the group’s fresh work to the Coastal Bend.
With help from TAMU-West Texas assistant ceramic professor Misty Gamble, who had collaborated with Urrutia on a previous project, the women landed on two other A&M colleagues: TAMU-Commerce’s Christy Wittmer and TAMIU-Laredo’s Emily Bayless. TETRA debuted as a group during The State of Things exhibit in January on Laredo’s A&M campus, less than a year after its official formation in April 2023.
“Collaborating with the members of TETRA and bringing that work to TAMU-CC opens up new avenues of collaboration between us as faculty and our students,” Bayless said. “I teach in Laredo, which is geographically distant and makes it important for me to find new ways to connect my work and the education my students get to other communities.”
Oh So Ceramic will feature the unique perspectives synonymous with each artist’s individual work. Gamble’s “Of Flesh and the Feminine” will come out to stun once again. Wittmer will debut her mixed-media interpretations of morality and longing, while Urrutia’s work aims to create a “psychic space” for the viewer to meditate within themselves. Bayless’ collection will also deal with concepts of womanhood and ritualistic devotion through traditional ceramic altars.
According to its members, TETRA’s most valuable asset as visiting artists is not only presenting thought-provoking ceramic work, rather giving smaller communities the comprehensive knowledge of four pioneers pushing the limits of what the medium can be.
“Some people think about ceramics as just pots, and I like to share with my students and the community that ceramics can be so much more,” Wittmer said. “This exhibition and the conversations we will have around it will help the community’s ideas about ceramics grow.”
The group hopes the festival’s public-facing events during the first weekend of October will help build this “expansive dialogue” about ceramics. The events include an hour-long discussion panel, live demonstrations and an all-day beach firing across the street from the university. The exhibition will remain on display in the Weil Gallery until Oct. 31.
“As expanded academics, scholars and researchers, as well as active practitioners in the field, it makes the dialogue we have with the community about our work very unique,” Gamble explained. “Through panels and demonstrations, we give the gift of our amazing conversations to help people reflect on how they think and have that space to reconsider.”
