A new semester brings a fresh start and different opportunities for college students. It also brings new classes, some of which have never been offered before. Ceramics, a topics course in the Studio Art program, is the first of its kind to be offered to Catawba College students. With a maximum capacity of 12 students, the class filled up within the first ten minutes of registration. Needless to say, students responded well to this offering.
Many things about the ceramics course make it unique. For starters, the class is taught by a professional potter. Salisbury resident, Brent Smith, owns and operates his own pottery business, Brent Smith Pottery. Smith is a 1993 East Carolina graduate with a BFA in ceramics. He is an extremely talented craftsman with his work being featured in exhibits, galleries, and appearing at art festivals. One fun fact about Brent is he is married to our college registrar, Kim Smith. Kim can often be spotted sipping from a coffee mug made by her husband, only one of the many beautiful works from Brent.
The location of the ceramics class also makes the course unique. The class is taught each Monday from 3pm-6pm at Waterworks Visual Arts Center in downtown Salisbury. Waterworks offers spectacular exhibits, a store to purchase beautiful art from local vendors, and classes for all age ranges and artistic interest. With a classroom dedicated to ceramics, fully equipped with pottery wheels, drying tables, and a kiln, Waterworks makes for the perfect location for this class.
“I’ve loved being in the ceramics class. It’s an immersing experience and I love getting to work with the different techniques and learning about types of clay,” said Catawba senior, Veronica Leasure. Each student has the opportunity to work on the wheel and hand build. The course is comprised of many projects that will eventually be glazed and fired for the students to keep. Leasure enjoys the class so much that she goes on to say, “I highly recommend anyone take this course.”
Be on the lookout for more fun and creative classes offered through the Studio Arts program in the following semesters.
