Hey guys-

This is the second installment in my pottery series designed to show a glimpse into the world of making pottery via "throwing" on a wheel.  Last time, I introduced the clay body and the first steps of the process (find my first post below if you need a refresher!)

Now that the pieces have been fired in an electric kiln, they are much more hardened and durable.  The firing process in itself is interesting because it is a true test of the clay body.  If the clay hasn't been wedged (kneaded) well enough and thrown correctly, too many little air pockets within the clay would cause it to just EXPLODE under the heat of the kiln.  So, if you're not careful, you could open the kiln to find your precious little bowl as fragments of what it used to be.  

If you look below at the pieces that have been fired (now referred to as bisqueware), you can see a few differences in them from before.  One obvious thing is the color.  The earthy light brown is now replaced with a light pink.  Of course results like this will also depend on the type of clay you decide to use.  Another thing that you probably can't see from the photo is the size; these pieces shrunk about 30% of their original size because of all the moisture being dried up in the firing.  

So, this leaves you at the stage where you glaze your piece!  However, I want to save this step for its own actual post after I've glazed the pieces.  Until then, tchau!

-j

Seasonal Celebration in a SNAP!

Admittedly, I am a Floridian who never truly experienced any other season before my college years except hot and hotter. The fall colors, brisk weather, and crunchy leaves underfoot were never aspects of my adolescence that I was lucky enough to enjoy. My first year as a freshman at Vanderbilt was my first official fall and I took major advantage of the opportunity! As a creative form of self-expression to celebrate my novel and individuated seasonal experience, I wanted to document each moment to my heart's content. My friends and I organized a relatively impromptu Fall Photoshoot, capturing photos of ourselves frolicking in the auburn and chestnut leaves, swinging from the trees, sporting cool windy weather gear (okay, cool for me.. the Floridian... notice the Uggs and wool sweater :P), and just relishing the experience of a lovely day in  a new home with new friends.

The genuine quality of the photos and the naturalism of the day as a whole is truly evident and I look back on these memories fondly and with an eye to the vivid color scheme, for it truly painted my life with color and added a vibrancy to my first semester that I had never anticipated. In memorium of this special event, I recently submitted one of the pictures into a photography contest exemplifying what true friendship stands for and how confidence and support is provided to me by my friends. This month, being International Women's Friendship Month, has encouraged me to look back upon all of the close bonds I've rendered here at school and to appreciate what I've been blessed to share and experience.

My suggestion: Follow in my footsteps! Share a spontaneous, fun day out in the Nashville scene--be it downtown, in the lovely Centennial Park, or even just among the tree-lined sidewalks of Hillsboro--with your friends and capture the memories!

A Breakdown of The Highest Caliber

Hey everyone, it's Will. I just got done having a moving experience involving the arts in a third floor room in Buttrick Hall at 10:30 on a Thursday night. While most of my peers are downtown partaking in "extra-curricular activities", I am holed up in Buttrick studying for my first French exam of the year (a truly joyous occaison).

One of the things I love about Buttrick is that you can play music through the speakers that are set up around each classroom. Let me paint you a picture; I am half-delirious from studying already, despite the fact that it's only 10:00 (I'm just that pathetic.) I have one of my favorite songs playing loudly through the speakers: "Separator" off of the new Radiohead album. I'm in the middle of writing some definitions on the board when I suddenly just lose it. I dropped my chalk, cranked up the volume, and started to dance. It would have been extremely embarrassing, I assure you. For the duration of the song, I was no longer studying by myself in a classroom. It was just me and the music, and I had four minutes of pure bliss; free from responsibility, stress, and fatigue. Music has and always will be my escape, whether it be from something inconsequential like studying, or from some of the larger problems we all encounter in life.


The main gist of this long post is that you should let go. Whatever your escape is, take a moment sometime to use it. Forget your inhibitions and let creative expression give you a break from the demanding atmosphere here at Vandy. Bonne nuit - Will

Throwing (pottery, that is) 101 with Josh

Hey guys,

So, I wanted to make a post about a form of artistic expression that I try and make apart of my life as much as possible, that being pottery.  Making or "throwing" pottery is something that I took up here at college last semester.  I thoroughly enjoyed the class (Ceramics with Susan DeMay, she's amazing btw) and often found myself in the studio throwing on the wheel, trimming, firing, and glazing pieces that I made with my own hands.  The end result was a small piece of myself, the time and effort put forth from my imagination and fingertips, into a physical manifestation that could house a bouquet of flowers, pour a glass of water, or simply sit on a shelf to look pretty.  Either way, I found something that allowed me to express myself and create something unique at the same time.

I still throw whenever I can find the time (there's a high demand for my professional pieces....psssssych) and to incorporate this into our theme, I wanted to do a little "series" of posts that takes you through the steps of making pottery.  If this is something that interests you, I encourage you to read this and keep an eye out for what is to come next.  Pottery is a process like most things so I'll be re-posting as I go through each step of the process :D

So this will be the first post then.  The picture you see is of the first, four pieces that I've made since I've been back to school (and therefore had access to a studio).

This is what thrown (pottery sculpted on a wheel) pieces look like before being fired in a kiln.  The original soft clay has been kneaded repeatedly to release the tiny air bubbles inside the clay (or otherwise it would explode in the kiln), and then placed on a "bat" on a wheel.  I'm sure most of you have seen the scene from Ghost where Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze are throwing pottery (amongst other inappropriate things).  That's basically what it is, just spinning the clay around while shaping it with your hands...doesn't sound too hard, does it?  Don't let it fool you, it's much more difficult than it looks.  Just learning to center the "cone" of clay before you actually shape it takes tons of practice.
So after the pieces are thrown/formed, they are set to dry.  Handles and trimming to the base are done before the clay body is too hardened, at a stage called "leather-hard".  What you see here is the finish of the first step of the process.  Once the are completely dry, they can be fired.  So, next time you see these pieces they will have been fired in the kiln!
Well there ya go.  Kinda long but the ones to follow will be more brief, no worries.
¡Hasta luego!

-Josh

From paper to life.

This is a work that I hope to have enlarged and painted on a wall of one of my future homes.  Scott Avett from the Avett Brothers, my favorite band, was the artist, which makes this piece even more important to me.  This work represents one aspect of the world that sits very close to my heart: the beautiful coexistence of humans and nature.  Strong hands aid in the growth of the vines as well as handle them gently.  Not only is this drawing a work of art, but nature in itself is a work of art.  Do not forget that while walking or class or eating lunch on the lawn.  Take a break from books for a while and look out the window.  Vanderbilt has more than just academics to offer :]

P.s. Check out the Avett Brothers...they rock my socks.

Love always,
Madeline