50p
The Ceramics Sanctuary
The soft whirring of spinning wheels, the harsh slamming of cold clay against the white canvas, the chatter of students: this is the pottery studio.
The ceramics program at Brentwood has made huge progress from its muddy roots many years ago. From an old stone oven, to the new high performance kilns in the Centre for Art and Humanities, pottery has flourished at Brentwood.
Pottery is a unique opportunity at Brentwood because most students haven’t been exposed to the ceramic world before they arrive. The start of every year brings scores of students who eagerly sign up for the classes which makes Mrs. Elmes, pottery maestro, thrilled. The new Centre for Arts and Humanities provides an amazing, state-of-the-art studio for pottery, which gives students more opportunities to be creative and strive to reach their full potting potential.
Pottery has three levels: beginner, advanced, and VIP (very important potter). The first year potters are classified as beginners and are assigned projects by Mrs. Elmes. The projects in beginner pottery are meant to provide basic skill and technique for hand-building and throwing simple pots on the wheel. Advanced potters are students with a year of experience. These potters are given more challenging projects, and they can choose whether they wish to hand build or throw.
The VIPs are potters with two years of experience. No projects are assigned by Mrs. Elmes. Instead, the potters must come up with their own ideas, plan them out, and propose them. These prestigious potters get the choice to either hand build or throw whenever they please.
Other than severely drying out your hands, pottery is a great way to unwind from the stresses of the academic day. There’s nothing like sitting down in front of a wheel and firmly molding a mound of clay; pottery is a great way to relax. Taking out stress by slamming down a slab of clay is another benefit. Most students experience shocking pride when their work is taken out of the kiln and placed on the cart, never before realizing how creative and skillful they can be. Pottery gives Brentwood students another avenue to express their artistic potential.
There are several events that the Brentwood Potters take part in, but the most crucial are Souper Bowls and the musical. Every year, students busily work at throwing and hand building bowls in order to sell them for charity; this initiative is called Souper Bowls. Every potter produces at least one bowl to donate which will be bought and the proceeds all go to charity.
The school musical put on by the performing arts students in March is another event that increases the activity in the pottery studio. Each year the potters brainstorm ideas of what they could make which represents the chosen musical for that year. Two years ago, for example, we made white masks and roses for “The Phantom of The Opera”. This year the hand builders will be creating a street scene for “In The Heights”. All the pottery created for the musical is compiled into a display case in order to show off Brentwood’s talented potters.
Anyone can be a great potter; patience and creativity is all you need. The possibilities are endless, and students take advantage of that with limitless creativity. Another great plus of being in pottery is that you never have to spend a penny on Christmas presents. ;-)
Lauren A, Allard ‘13
The ceramics program at Brentwood has made huge progress from its muddy roots many years ago. From an old stone oven, to the new high performance kilns in the Centre for Art and Humanities, pottery has flourished at Brentwood.
Pottery is a unique opportunity at Brentwood because most students haven’t been exposed to the ceramic world before they arrive. The start of every year brings scores of students who eagerly sign up for the classes which makes Mrs. Elmes, pottery maestro, thrilled. The new Centre for Arts and Humanities provides an amazing, state-of-the-art studio for pottery, which gives students more opportunities to be creative and strive to reach their full potting potential.
Pottery has three levels: beginner, advanced, and VIP (very important potter). The first year potters are classified as beginners and are assigned projects by Mrs. Elmes. The projects in beginner pottery are meant to provide basic skill and technique for hand-building and throwing simple pots on the wheel. Advanced potters are students with a year of experience. These potters are given more challenging projects, and they can choose whether they wish to hand build or throw.
The VIPs are potters with two years of experience. No projects are assigned by Mrs. Elmes. Instead, the potters must come up with their own ideas, plan them out, and propose them. These prestigious potters get the choice to either hand build or throw whenever they please.
Other than severely drying out your hands, pottery is a great way to unwind from the stresses of the academic day. There’s nothing like sitting down in front of a wheel and firmly molding a mound of clay; pottery is a great way to relax. Taking out stress by slamming down a slab of clay is another benefit. Most students experience shocking pride when their work is taken out of the kiln and placed on the cart, never before realizing how creative and skillful they can be. Pottery gives Brentwood students another avenue to express their artistic potential.
There are several events that the Brentwood Potters take part in, but the most crucial are Souper Bowls and the musical. Every year, students busily work at throwing and hand building bowls in order to sell them for charity; this initiative is called Souper Bowls. Every potter produces at least one bowl to donate which will be bought and the proceeds all go to charity.
The school musical put on by the performing arts students in March is another event that increases the activity in the pottery studio. Each year the potters brainstorm ideas of what they could make which represents the chosen musical for that year. Two years ago, for example, we made white masks and roses for “The Phantom of The Opera”. This year the hand builders will be creating a street scene for “In The Heights”. All the pottery created for the musical is compiled into a display case in order to show off Brentwood’s talented potters.
Anyone can be a great potter; patience and creativity is all you need. The possibilities are endless, and students take advantage of that with limitless creativity. Another great plus of being in pottery is that you never have to spend a penny on Christmas presents. ;-)
Lauren A, Allard ‘13
75p
