Most Colgate University students wouldn’t think to check the basement of 80 Broad Street for a community of tight-knit and creative potters. Yet, sure enough, the Creative Arts Society hosts approximately 30 Colgate students per week, all of whom look forward to the ceramics and community that are characteristic of Clay Club.
Junior and Clay Club president Georgia Banner has sought out ceramics since being introduced to the craft in high school, where she took to it immediately.
“In high school, I was in ceramics for two years, and then I was the [teaching assistant] for the beginner class, so I had it for two periods every day. [The summer] after I graduated, I became a member of a studio in town,” Banner said.
Any concerns Banner may have had about access to her craft at Colgate were quickly addressed, as her First-Year Seminar (FSEM) professor, Catherine Cardelús, professor of biology and environmental studies and director of the Upstate Institute, pointed her in the direction of Clay Club. An unassuming studio — equipped with one kiln and a resident cat — serves as Clay Club’s home base during the academic year.
Sophomore and treasurer Jack Antonson, one of the 11 Clay Club leaders, described his role in the organization and the unique interactions it fosters between members. More than simply providing a social space, Clay Club offers a unique opportunity for students to learn from one another and improve on their collective craft.
“Last year, it was less organized. This year, [Banner] did a better job of giving each leader certain hours of each day every week,” Antonson said. “That way, there’s a spread and time for people to come. The idea is that we’re there to teach them.”
Unlike Banner, Antonson got his first taste of ceramics while at Colgate.
“I’d never done it before. It existed in my high school, but I’d never taken advantage of it. I think that shows how much of an underused opportunity it is — free clay does not exist in the adult world,” Antonson said.
Having only taken it up recently, Antonson described ceramics as complex and difficult to master, albeit exceedingly rewarding.
“I think pottery on the surface level appears like a very simple craft. You sit on the wheel for an hour, and you make this lump of clay,” Antonson said. “But there’s a real depth of technique — you can see it with [Banner] and how she throws.”
But even those members who have ample experience in the arts, like senior Ella Cassulo, acknowledge the real need for practice when it comes to ceramics.
“My entire life I’ve been an artist. I was a painter before I started doing ceramics,” Cassulo said. “At the start, it’s really hard, and then once you get it down, it’s much easier. I had a really good teacher who was hands-on at the beginning of the learning curve and then really hands-off [towards the end].”
Antonson elaborated on the frustration the experience of doing pottery for the first time involves.
“The first time on the wheel, you have a lot of confidence. The elementary kid in you is just excited to sit at the wheel and make something,” Antonson said. “[But] to learn how to get to that level at which you envision yourself, finding the feeling that you need to properly throw something, it’s such a small margin of error.”
Frustration notwithstanding, members walk out of each Clay Club session having gained, if nothing else, a sense of friendship and community. Cassulo, who also works at a ceramics studio in Hamilton, N.Y., is in an ideal position to reflect upon Clay Club’s unique atmosphere.
“[Clay Club] is the only opportunity I get to teach people, and that feels very rewarding. There’s a disconnect of people coming to the studio, some people are like, ‘Why are you talking to me?’, and others are like, ‘Why aren’t you telling me how to do this?’” Cassulo said.
Banner too has used her role in Clay Club not only to reaffirm her ceramic capabilities but to take advantage of the creativity and camaraderie which are so potent in such a group.
“[Even though] it’s kind of an individual activity, it’s way more fun when there are a lot of people chatting and laughing and listening to music [while we throw]. It brings a social element to an individual creative endeavor,” Banner said.
Regardless of one’s ceramic ambitions, there is no substitute for time in the studio.
“There’s only so much you can tell somebody. There [are] techniques in how to position your hands, but understanding the clay changes everything about how you interact with it,” Antonson said.
