The scenery around him may have changed significantly in the past year, but Matt Dannelley is still studying and working in ceramics, the art form that earned him significant acclaim as a Southwestern student. Now in the graduate art program at Utah State University, he says the geography and landscape of his new home inspire him. "There is really nothing that cannot be done in ceramics here, so there is nothing holding me back."

Ceramics is a craft that combines technical and aesthetic choices, a challenge Dannelley enjoys. "I am fascinated by the ceramic process of transforming raw earthen materials into permanent objects. When sculpting the clay, I think about ways in which the materials and process can be expressed through form. My vases are intended to complement their surroundings in architectural settings." His mentor at Southwestern, Professor of Art Patrick Veerkamp, suggested USU, a program with which he was familiar because of his friendship with John Neely, the head professor in ceramics and chair of its Art Department.

Dannelley will earn a Master of Fine Arts in 2005, and later he hopes to begin teaching and "work my way up the ladder towards a full-time faculty position in ceramic art at the university level."