Currently on display at The Clay Studio are works ranging from the straightforward to the structural, as well as both funny observational studies and heartfelt memorials. The artists with their work in the gallery are mostly associates and alumni of this Knight Arts grantee, their work acting as a testament to the range and quality of the work coming out of this show and workspace.

Zhanna Martin, “Carefree.”

One of the most honest and amusing pieces is certainly “Carefree” by Zhanna Martin. Here, the artist manages to capture both the realism of an aged human face and the humor of this character’s apparent hedonism. A bespectacled, gray-haired grandmotherly bust hangs on the wall donning an obnoxious floral shirt and a necklace of bulbous, multicolored beads. All of this seems appropriate for an eccentric old woman, if not for the giant, lit cigar dangling from her partially toothless mouth. This woman is both sweet and seedy as she puffs away on her stogie. “I’ve lived a solid life,” she seems to assert, “and now it’s time to have some fun!”

Koz Noruzi, “Madiba.”

A bust of an entirely different sort is that by Koz Noruzi, whose remembrance of the recently deceased Nelson Mandela in terracotta stands as an apt, if small, tribute to this man’s life of world-shaping accomplishments. Instead of a dour, straitlaced countenance, “Madiba” depicts Mandela with a crooked, toothy grin, highlighting his image of joviality and kindness in the face of apartheid, imprisonment and struggle.

Michael Morgan, “Inner Life.”

Taking an abstract slant, Michael Morgan builds up a wall of frame-like, hollow-centered bricks, which take on some of the characteristics of a fence or display case. Entitled “Inner Life,” this structured, right-angled form bristles with strange growths inside its rectangular parts, which skew both geological and biological. It seems as if it were built only as a barrier but gave way to the slow and steady march of time, which both altered and undermined its original intention. The life in Morgan’s sculpture may not be easy to pin down, but its color and texture are the very same as the hard edges from which it sprouts. Camouflaged in all but their shape, these protrusions are as substantial as they are stealthy.

Julie Moon, “Bloomers.”

Up in a lonely corner, Julie Moon straddles the silliness of Martin and the abstraction of Morgan for her tiny sculpture “Bloomers.” A twisted mountain of snow, marshmallows or clouds rests plopped on a shelf, two feet sticking out of each side of the mound. The title is a take on the puffy, lower body woman’s apparel of days past, but with this substance completely covering the figure, it seems simultaneously comfortable and suffocating, not to mention nothing like actual clothing.

The Clay Studio will soon be hosting “Date Night” for Valentine’s Day weekend. Here, couples can come and check out the facilities along with light fare (cheese, fruit, chocolate and wine) before trying out four-handed wheel throwing with the Clay Studio’s experienced instructors by candlelight. There is even a Demi Moore/Patrick Swayze cut-out poster so you and your sweetie can “Ghost” yourselves. Date Night is a creative and fun way to spend Valentine’s Day, so be sure to sign up while there are still spots available!

The Clay Studio is located at 137-139 North Second St., Philadelphia; [email protected]; theclaystudio.org.