2025 | Mount St. Helens Commemoration & Flatware Program

ONE DAY ONLY: View the display of 100 ash-glazed plates created in the WSU ceramics lab

Mount St. Helens Commemoration and Flatware Program
Wednesday, March 5, 2025, 4:00-5:30pm
Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU

May 18, 2025 marks the 45th anniversary of the eruption of Mount St. Helens. A significant portion of the 540 million tons of ash that spewed from the volcano settled across Central and Eastern Washington, and inventive ceramists in the region collected the ash to make beautiful glazes. To commemorate the explosive history of Mount St. Helens, the WSU Art Department invited participation in the creation of 100 pieces of flatware which were then finished using Mt. St. Helens ash glazes developed in the WSU ceramics lab. Workshop participants—including students and community members—learned about volcanic ash, assisted in rolling clay, and shaped one or more plates. Participants were also invited back to glaze plates once they were bisque fired. Additional plates were made and glazed by WSU students, faculty, and staff during ceramics classes and clay club sessions.

The commemoration culminates on Wednesday, March 5, 2025 at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU in connection with The Art of Food, From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation. All 100 plates will be on display starting at 10am, accompanied by a program at 4pm about the significance of the eruption at WSU and in our region. Kassie Smith, Ceramics Technician for the WSU Department of Art, will speak about Mt. St. Helens ash and the eruption in relation to the ceramics community past and present. Mark O’English, University Archivist for WSU, will share some stories from the archives about the WSU community’s reaction to the eruption.

The plates will be given away at the event for a suggested donation per plate on a first come first served basis beginning at 4:00pm, with donations going to support regional food insecurity. Donations will be collected by the Pullman’s Community Action Center via credit card machine/PayPal/Venmo. When you arrive at the program you may claim a plate once you make a donation by placing a sticker on the bottom with your name. We ask that the plates remain on the display table until hors d’oeuvres are served during the second half of the program so visitors may view all 100 plates.

Hors d’oeuvres created by Knead Café and Pâtisserie. A gluten-free option will be available.

Organized by the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and the WSU Art Department, with special thanks to Io Palmer and Kassie Smith. Funding for this program is provided by the Office of the Chancellor WSU and by a grant from Jordan Schnitzer and The Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation.