introduction

I began working with clay during my senior year of college.  It took me longer than three weeks and a forced blindfolding by my professor to learn how to center a small lump of clay on the potters’ wheel.  I struggled through the first few weeks of throwing, and I remember thinking that I was doomed if I ever had to teach this technique to students.

I have lacked coordination my whole life, and, continuing in this tradition, I stumbled on a step that semester and fractured my ankle in three places.  Since I was unable to get to the studio, my professor allowed me to take an incomplete and finish the course at my own pace in the spring, once I was in a walking cast. 

It was during that spring that I fell in love with clay.  Working independently and at my own pace, I found myself losing track of time spent at the potters’ wheel.  I hardly came up for air.  I fumbled on the wheel for months, slowly improving and reflecting on the neglected notion that there were some things in life I couldn’t shortcut or improvise.  Clay was a process that required focus, solid concepts, physical strength, learning from mistakes, stubborn persistence, and the willingness to let go.  There were so many parallels to the broader road I was traveling then and am still traveling now.  As my ankle healed and I eventually learned to throw a cylinder, I believe I learned some lessons greater than the technical.  Chris Staley’s quietly worded statement describes these feelings far better than my attempts.

In the documentary ‘Revolution of the Wheel,’ historian Charles Fisk notes:

Clay is capable of the wildest, materially substantial poetry.  It comes very close to being a sacred medium; on the other hand it comes close to being one of the most vulgar mediums man uses.  It is at once eternal and absolutely momentary.  Things have survived 5000, 6000, 7000 years, and older, and they can be all smashed to nothing with one hammer.

Be it for genuine interest, to fulfill a credit requirement, a combination of these reasons, or one of your own, with your enrollment in a ceramics course you have entered into a tradition both ancient and very contemporary.  I hope that you will take some thoughtful risks, push yourself beyond the level at which you think you are capable, and enjoy the process.  Welcome to the studio!


-Ms. P.

The essence of making pots for me is about being human. It’s about strength and fragility. It’s about the intimate moment when the handle of a cup touches the hand. It is about making what isn’t there compelling.


When we stop to take notice of how handles feel or how some sculptures makes us think twice about what we are seeing, we slow down, reflect, take stock, become more aware of ourselves and things around us. We become more sensitive. I believe something good comes of this - we become more willing to understand and appreciate what life has to offer.


-Chris Staley

Studio Playlist / 1.21.08

Wake Up Call / Maroon 5

The Way I Am / Ingrid Michaelson

Fire / Ohio Players

Give Up the Funk / Parliament

You Dropped a Bomb on Me / The Gap Band

Instant Karma / U2

I Miss You / Blink 182

Gold / Once Soundtrack

Lazy Eye / Silversun Pickups

Snow / Red Hot Chili Peppers

Is There a Ghost / Band of Horses

Through Any Window / Wisely

Apologize / Timbaland

Paralyzer / Finger Eleven

Piazza, New York Catcher / Belle & Sebastian

Needle in the Hay / Elliott Smith

Me and Julio / Paul Simon

1234 / Feist

Mystical / Birdie Busch