For the first time this year, the Ann Bower ‘67 Gallery is filled with whimsically colorful pots, bowls and plates by the ceramacists of Mr. Brady’s Cermics I and Advanced Ceramics classes. The showcase lasted from Jan. 10th to Jan. 31st, so if you didn’t catch the artwork at the exhibit, take a look here.

Every year, the Advanced Ceramics classes begin with a themed focus and are then able to slowly create beyond the theme in order to develop their own personal style.

“Our initial project was to make coral pieces, and we spent a while on those,” Alex Rabin, sophomore of Advanced Ceramics, said. “We could really use our imagination on them and there wasn’t really a specific way Mr. Brady wanted us to do them, which was cool.”

The students created their art with various approaches, and a lot of the pieces were a result of just having fun in the studio.

“My inspiration was that the glaze was called ‘pebble stone,’ so I decided to match that with the pebble design,” Junior Grace Heusinger said regarding her plate pictured above (fifth picture). “At first, I didn’t intend for it to look like coral, but it just happened to look really cool after I glazed it.”

By the beginning of the second quarter, the students began to show more of their imagination, using their skills from their previous ceramics training to experiment in the studio.

“We moved into making different things on the wheel, like cups or bowls. Some people are really into making plates this year,” Rabin said. “It’s a lot more independent than Ceramics I, because instead of working on technique, the class is more catered to developing creativity.”

This year marks the 33rd year for the ceramics exhibition, and the talent exhibited in the gallery will reappear in May.

Story and photos by Shea Duffy, Staff Writer