Record-ing “In the Heights”

12 March 2013Samantha D, Allard ‘13

March at Brentwood brought with it the Brentwood musical, “In the Heights”. Full of Dominican slang and rap battles, raised the bar for future musicals. Recognizing the significance of such a performance, our ceramics instructor, Mrs. Peggy “ClayCreator” Elmes, decided to mold a display to represent the culture of the play.

For the advanced throwers, it began with throwing plates. I had never realized that throwing a plate was possible until Mrs. Elmes very gracefully tossed a slab of clay on the wheel and, in a mere matter of moments, produced an enormous platter. Within a few days, she had taught us all how to turn a lump of clay into a plate that mimicked a vinyl record. Over the course of the next few weeks, we underglazed details onto the faces, painting each vinyl to look like the recording of a different song from “In the Heights.”

Handbuilders were given an equally difficult project. They were to replicate a street scene from the musical, with miniature characters, buildings, and brickwork. They all faced their own difficulties: fixing cracks, crevasses, and breaks in the structure, but each managed to pull through and produce a piece of art that they were proud of. Mrs. Elmes observed, “I’m really impressed with the way the plates turned out. Making a plate on the wheel looks very simple, but in reality it’s one of the more difficult skills. For fourteen kids to make relatively flat plates and decorate them in just a few weeks is very cool.”

It wasn’t just Mrs. Elmes who enjoyed this task. The Senior Potters each took their record or scene to heart with pride. Lauren A was especially excited after this project: “I loved learning how to make a plate; it was something new and it was pretty cool. After a lot of practise and a few failures, I was eventually able to throw a large plate for my personal use. I might even take it to university next year!” she said, smiling. Fellow Grade 12 potter, Eryn W shared similar feelings: “You know, when I started this project, I was pretty sure I’d never throw a nice enough record to have it featured in the Bunch. And then, a week or two into the project, I found myself getting it. The plates I was making were flat and even, it was rewarding knowing that my efforts were actually improving my skill as a potter” she told me as she looked at her beautiful blue and black striped ceramic inside its glass case.

Although the musical, with its all-star cast, crew and audience, was the main event, the pottery display played its supporting role last week. Have a look, you may even see work from someone you know!

Samantha D, Allard ‘13

Where Students Choose To Be