Paducah, KY (January 11, 2016) - Paducah School of Art and Design (PSAD) will host an opening reception for its annual showcase of works by nationally recognized master artists January 21.

The reception for this year's exhibition titled, "Over the Top," will be held from 5-7 p.m. the Clemens Fine Arts Gallery located on the campus of West Kentucky Community and Technical College (WKCTC). The reception is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

Audiences will get an advance preview of this summer's Master Artist Program with the following master artists.

Tim Lazure will showcase works in jewelry and stonesetting. Lazure's work is also in the collections of the Mint Museum of Craft and Design, and the Gallery of Art and Design in Raleigh, N.C. Images of his work have been published in 1000 Rings, 500 Brooches, The Art of Enameling, and The Craft of Silversmithing.

Artwork by Yoshi Fujii features his ceramic carving artistry. Fujii's work has been published and shown in international exhibitions and competitions, won multiple awards, and added to collections. He is one of Ceramics Monthly's Emerging Artists of 2015 and a fellow of the Craftsmen's Guild of Mississippi.

Jill Baker Gower will present her work of etched and hollow constructed jewelry.

Her work has been in many juried and curated exhibitions nationwide and has been published in Metalsmith magazine, 500 Enameled Objects and the forthcoming book CAST. In 2015, Gower was a recipient of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship.

Ceramic work by Elaine Henry is designed to help viewers develop and understand their personal aesthetic style. Henry served as the President of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) from 2002 to 2004. She is currently a Fellow of NCECA and an elected member of the International Academy of Ceramics. Her work is widely published, exhibited, and collected.

Sunshine Cobb will showcase her ceramic work that discovers new inspiration in established techniques. She was named as an emerging artist by both Ceramics Monthly magazine and the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. Sunshine is working as a potter and travels the country as a lecturing and demonstrating artist. Cobb's work is shown at left.

The "Over the Top" opening reception and exhibition will be held in conjunction with the photo contest exhibition from WKCTC's One Book Read of Saints at the River.

To register for this summer's Master Artist Workshop Program, which is set for May-August, call Peggy Allgood, PSAD division assistant, at (270) 408-4278.