Art faculty and students were given a chance to sell their art to the community during Palomar’s art department semester art sale Dec. 2.

Michael Hernandez, the director of the sale and glassing blowing professor, described participating in the art sale as training wheels for what selling art in the real world is like. What students do is take the best work that they made in their classes and sell it at various booths. Once the work is sold, 20 percent of the proceeds is put back into the department.

“It’s a good avenue for students to be able to understand how to sell their work. It’s this mock environment of what making and selling work is like.”

Hernandez paints the scene of the art sale being populated by various works of both practical and fine art; ranging from, glass, ceramics and woodworkings.

Participants in the art sale are also responsible for maintaining and managing the sale itself. They do everything from help organize tables to sell chili in ceramic bowls.

“As a member of the student art sale, selling your work, you are also involved in helping manage the sale,” Hernandez said. “It’s a way for them to also sort of engage with the public that comes in, it’s often times a great chance for them to get another perspective on their work.”

Claudia Castillo, a participant in the sale and glass blowing lab tech, went into detail on the process of deciding on what to put in the sale.

“You have to have a production line of ideas, most of the things that actually sell are like cups and bowls made out of glass instead of sculptural stuff, because it doesn’t sell, it has to be useable and utilitarian,” Castillo said.

Bob McAleese, a ceramics student in his last semester at Palomar, described demoing clay spinning as like being on stage, with all the pressure that come along with such an artistic performance.

“The clay’s gotta to be right, you have to be right. You have to be kind of focused, but also kind of relaxed and patient above anything else. You know just vibe with whatever the clay is giving yah at the time,” McAleese said.

The proceeds go to visiting artist, back into the programs, and specialty equipment that the department itself doesn’t supply for. Some of the money is also feed into funding the next sale with money for advertising.

“It helps us be able to buy equipment that is specific for our programs,” Hernandez said. “Another big part of what the sale does is pay for the next sale as well.”

Carroll Crannell, a volunteer in the ceramics department and former art teacher in the Oceanside school district, described how the sale is imperative for supporting Palomar’s art department with less and less funding being available.

“It’s a shame to see them not get more support, at one time, Palomar College was known nationwide for its glass blowing program and its art department,” Crannell said. “It’s a great department, when I was teaching I sent all my students over here to Palomar rather than MiraCosta College.”