An artful influence

Professor of art Ted Saupe, who has built a career on campus that has inspired decades of students, embodies the spirit that fosters a community of ceramic artists. He is one of the one of many reasons why the ceramics program in the Lamar Dodd School of Art is so special:

Together with fellow ceramicist and professor of art Sunkoo Yuh, they have built a program where students work side-by-side loading kilns, working with clay (either sculpturally or making functional pots), eating meals together and learning from one another. And it’s not just students learning from their instructors. Saupe gets inspiration from his students every day for his own work.

“I have a job where I love to come to work every single day,” said Saupe.

Although Saupe has taught full time at UGA since 1992, his first introduction to UGA and Athens came after graduate school. As a recipient of an artist in residency program at UGA, he was teaching, making, researching and basking in the music and art scene of the ’80s. His mentors were pivotal, too; learning, working and exploring his art alongside lifelong friends, artists and mentors Ron Meyers, Andy Nasisse and the late Michael Simon.

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Image: Graduate student Isys Hennigar, left, discusses her work with Ted Saupe. (Photo by Peter Frey/UGA)