I was honored to be asked to teach tableware in the RISD Ceramics Department this semester. The first project was to pinch, coil, and/or slab-construct a breakfast set. The students' enthusiasm for working with clay is inspiring. The result is usable sculptural objects, unifying art and function, with each student having a distinct approach, a unique visual voice.
The students considered how they eat breakfast, or what kind of experience they would like to have at the table, and created forms to reflect those concepts. The hand is clearly visible in every object, creating a strong connection between the artist and the user.
The work shown below is in the leather-hard, or bone-dry stage (my favorite and most fragile). All about the purity of form and touch, unglazed clay shows off its folds, dimples, and wrinkles.
Wei Che
Jack Yu
Megan Wu
Cathy Lee
Elisabeth Zhang
Brianna Duffy
Abigail Griswold
Danielle Glynn
Brandon Saisho
Adriana Gallo
Abigail Heingartner
Will Jackson
