This past weekend, I was able to harness my artistic abilities (or lack thereof) and make a mug out of clay at the Johnson Art Museum. I’ve made things out of clay before but only when I was very young. In fact, I hadn’t done any hands-on artwork in a long time, only some painting and drawing.

Upon arrival to the museum, we gathered around the instructor and watched her demonstrate how to make the mug. In sculpting the three different parts: the base, cup part, and handle, the mug would be made and would dry in 48 hours. Though it took me many attempts, I was finally able to get the shape I wanted. Originally, I was just going to make a standard mug, like how the instructor demonstrated. However, after seeing what other people were doing, I gained inspiration to make the top of my mug have a wave pattern. Throughout the experience, I realized that I wasn’t stressed about my upcoming prelims at all. Although I felt stressed after the event, that 1 hour was a nice break for my brain to just relax and focus on creativity instead of exams to come. I think that taking mental breaks are essential for academic success – we can’t be focused on schoolwork all the time or we’ll get burnt out, fast. In the future, I will turn to art as an outlet for creativity and a break from school.