A reception on Saturday kicked off the start of an exhibition displaying the artwork of Bay Area ceramic sculptors at Cosumnes River College’s art gallery.

The reception brought the artwork of contemporary artists Lisa Reinertson, Bill Abright, Richard Shaw and Claudia Tarantino together to expose students to the diversity of possibilities within the art field. CRC’s very own art professor, Yoshio Taylor, curated the event.

“My intention is to bring this high caliber work to our students here as well as the surrounding community so they don’t have to go to San Francisco to view them,” said Taylor. “This is all museum quality work.”

The college tries to display at least two exhibitions every semester, sometimes even three, but the work it takes to organize these events is a lot harder than it may seem. This exhibition, like many others, was scheduled about a year in advance.

“It takes so much preparation and arrangements,” said Taylor. “There is a lot of time involved. You can’t just come and hang up a piece and be done.”

Events on campus are an excellent way of bringing the community together. The art gallery located on campus is the largest art gallery in southern Sacramento, which gives the art department a great opportunity of displaying art that normally wouldn’t be displayed on a community college campus.

“We’d like to invite students to these events because it is their gallery,” said Dean of Communication Visual and Performing Arts Dr. Colette Harris-Mathews.

The artwork displayed was all primarily clay. Each artist had their own style varying in sizes, which added to the effect of appealing to a variety of attendees. Viewing different types of art made by successful artists can be inspiring to an aspiring artist.

“I think that since we are at a community college and a lot of students are embarking on their adult lives, seeing artist who have spent their career following their passion and seeing a survey of artwork gives them a perspective of what one can do in the art world,” said featured artist Tarantino.

Managing a career in art could be a little worrisome, but the skills that are gained over the years are a lot like life skills. Pursuing grad school to gain a masters is a tip Tarantino suggested to students who have an interest in the field.

Just outside of the gallery, a framed poster signed by Milton Brown, jars of Spease Bees Honey and even wine were being auctioned off. The value of the items ranged from $50 to $500.

The exhibition will be on display until Dec. 1 in the art gallery located at the school’s south entrance.