Picture yourself standing next to a mansion. It's huge and you are tiny, to say the least. Now, picture your hand holding that same mansion in your palm. It completely changes your perspective.

'We are always comparing ourselves to our environment,' said Kirk Mayhew, one of the artists featured in 'Beyond Function,' the newest exhibit on display in the Rike Center Gallery. His ceramic sculptures challenge people to think about the figurative element of themselves and their surroundings.

With over twenty pieces on display, the Rike Center's latest exhibition features works by Mayhew, Kelly Phelps, Kyle Phelps, Marsha Karagheusian, Dave Kirchner, Bobby Scroggins, Holly Brown, Matt Burton, Bing Davis and Paul Andrew Wandless.

Mayhew has five pieces displayed in the exhibit, including 'Palm/Mansion.' Most of Mayhew's work experiments with scale changes.

'As scales are shifting, meanings are shifting,' he said.

Mayhew completed graduate school at the University of Cincinnati in 2000 and came to UD to teach a pottery class for a few years. Here he met Kyle Phelps, the curator of the exhibit and a professor in the department of visual arts at UD.

Phelps and the other nine artists are educators. They are people he has networked with over the years and he refers to them as 'one big family.'

The title of the exhibit is 'Beyond Function' because Phelps wants people to experience the non-functional side of ceramics.

'Ceramics is much more than building a pot; that's just one aspect of it,' said Phelps. 'It is beyond functional-ware.'

Phelps hopes to open people's minds with the exhibit and have them see the figurative side of ceramics.

Phelps and his brother, Kelly, worked together on a piece entitled 'Battle for Cincinnati.' It depicts a brick wall with broken windows and police officers on one side with a group of African Americans on the other. The African Americans have looks of pain and anger on their faces and are holding signs that read, 'Stop Killing Us!' and, 'Fight the Power.'

This is one of three sculptures Phelps and his brother created in response to the race riots that occurred in Cincinnati in 2001. The wood used to construct the wall was actually a board that was covering a broken window at a riot site.

'This gives the piece a sense of authenticity,' said Phelps.

'Beyond Function' is now on display in the Rike Center Gallery through March 9. The gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Fridays.

Take advantage of this amazing display of talent right here on campus and challenge yourself to think figuratively. You will like what you see.