The Clay Club, known for its annual holiday pottery fundraiser, hosted a fun and creative event on campus for Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14 for all Shoreline Community College students.
Over 24 student participants enjoyed the hands-on creative experience. The Clay Club provided all the materials needed, including brushes, tools, paints, and pieces that students could decorate as they wanted.
The Clay Club members welcomed each student with care and enthusiasm. They showed them around the room, explained how the glazing process works, introduced them to people nearby, guided them to the pieces they could choose from, and found them a place to start their ceramic painting. Students arrived in pairs, groups, and alone, but they all were received with the same warmth and smiles.
One student said, “It was so fun to personalize my own piece. I am very excited to see how it will turn out after firing.” This student chose to paint a small heart-shape using the colors blue and red.
For many years, the Clay Club has encouraged students from outside the ceramic classes to get to know and experience art with ceramics. Their general events, made possible by holiday pottery fundraisers, are geared “towards people who already have some ceramics experience and want to deepen that knowledge,” said Ande, the club president. Students with all levels of experience are welcome, but they emphasized that “the content is more understandable with a foundation of ceramics experience.”
Students interested in joining the Clay Club do not need prior experience to attend the monthly meetings. During the present quarter, their meetings take place on the first Tuesday of each month at 3 p.m. in the Ceramics Building. Ande said, “these meetings are ‘meet and make,’ so we talk a little business but also get some time to make things together.” It’s a great opportunity to get to know the members.
It took club members a couple weeks to handmake all of the available pieces of pottery — small and medium bowls, ring holders, vases, cups, and even some cute heart and animal-shaped ornaments — that students then chose from and decorated however they wanted. After decorating, the pieces needed to be fired, and the club promised to contact each student via email when their pieces were ready for pickup.
The firing process involves “bringing clay and glazes up to a high temperature,” and this is done at Shoreline Community College’s facility, which has an amazing firing capability. This process is important in ceramics because the pieces become more durable and water-resistant.
To get more information and/or involved with the Clay Club, send an email to Ande, the club president, at [email protected]. They send details and updates about the club throughout the quarter via newsletter.
