I started learning ceramics in 2007, first for a required course for my BFA, but then kept it up through undergrad (by joining Clay Club!) because it was just something I really loved to do.
I knew I would keep up my love of making things out of clay during grad school...only, I didn't. I just never had time to fit in one more course. And ceramics takes a lot of time, and I chose to put my time toward other things.
But there is a really amazing arts center in my city, where I started taking classes on and off beginning my first summer of grad school. And now that I've finished my degree, I am continuously taking classes there, hopefully as long as I live here! I absolutely love it.
Earlier this year, I took bookmaking, which was awesome and I've been getting into more on my own (post about that soon), and now I've started taking ceramics again, and I basically never want to stop enrolling in ceramics (it's mixed level so you can keep on going indefinitely).
This is a cup that came out of the glaze fire this week. When I look at the photos I took of it, I see all of these things I want to fix about it, but when I look at it in person, I love it despite all its imperfections. I want to make the same cup again and make it even better, and I have a lot of other ideas as well. I wish I had more than 3 hours a week in the ceramics studio!
That's all for now. I just wanted to profess my love of clay. As an artist, for me it's important to learn new skills outside of my main expertise, and when I do work outside my favored medium I am always pleasantly surprised by valuable lessons in craftsmanship that seem to carry over to other areas later, and by new ideas that come to me when branching out.
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