A fire is burning behind the art building on the SIUE campus.
Several students watch with excitement as the masks they have created are placed into the ashes.
This is a process known as pit firing, which will turn the clay from pink to dark gray. The masks will smolder for 24 hours, causing great variations in color from mask to mask. Susie Stancil and Nathan Murrel are instructors for the Ceramics Summer Art Studio. The studio is actually a summer camp, which runs from July 5-21 and features morning and afternoon sessions. The studio offers students the opportunity to create various types of pots and sculptures.