A ceramic boat with ceramic coral made by Nina Samuels for her "Catch of the Day" exhibit at the Morean Center for Clay — Credit: Courtesy of the Morean Center for Clay

Sardinecore is so hot right now. Maybe it’s the constant threat of recession, our obsession with protein, or the vague fantasy of a Mediterranean vacation.

Ceramicist Nina Samuels explores the commodification of nature in her exhibit, “Catch of the Day,” turning the Morean Center for Clay into a fish market.

For Samuels—who moved to the area from Savannah, Georgia, for the exhibit—the natural world is more than a trendy aesthetic. She uses wild clay and other natural materials foraged across the southeast for her work and creates ceramic sculptures that are submerged underwater, serving as artificial marine reefs.

There is no cover for Nina Samuels: Catch of the Day Ceramic Exhibition, Wednesdays-Saturdays through July 3 in St. Petersburg.