When ceramicist Cathy Lu graduated from San Francisco Art Institute in 2010, she felt a little lost. She was working a retail job and didn’t have much money. She did have some friends at Root Division, however, and she applied for one of the community organization’s subsidized art studios.

“It made it affordable. It made me able to make art,” Lu told 48hills. “I got to teach through them, like sewing workshops. And the community is great. A lot of my best friends now are from Root Division.”

Lu recently moved back to the Bay Area to be an assistant professor at UC Berkeley’s ceramics department, after teaching at Tufts University for two years. And now, she’s being honored at Root Division’s Thu/23 benefit art auction.

Demetri Broxton, RD’s executive director, says Lu not only held one

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