I loved this event! I had a lot of fun sculpting my mug. Working with the clay was very peaceful and relaxing. My whale-shaped mug was inspired by the whale-themed chimes concert at the clocktower. Once it was finished, I filled it with seashells and put it on the windowsill.

It was also neat to learn about the details of sculpting. We looked at the following example of a unique piece. Earlier in the semester, I visited the visible storage gallery at the Johnson museum with a class and glanced over this cup. The pictures caught my eye, and the cup reminded me of wonderland. It was cool to see it again and learn a few details about the creator of the piece.

I love sculpture, so when I signed up for this event, I didn’t know what to expect except for one thing for sure: I would definitely have fun. As I slapped, threw, and molded my block of clay into a perfect(?) blob, I wondered what kind of mug I should make. There were so many possibilities…should I make a cup? Or should it be more geometric? Oh wow that’s a heart…should I try to make something more complicated?? After much deliberation, I settled on making a whale shaped mug.

As I started shaping the base, I realized the shape began to resemble something else. In my attempts to create a whale body, the shape had instead turned out to be more like a…toilet paper roll? I was at a loss of what to do, but it was too late to try to reshape it again. Instead, I decided to keep my toilet paper roll shaped mound of clay and was inspired to create a tree trunk, albeit a very short and small tree trunk. While my mug didn’t exactly end up like how I envisioned it (or even look like much a mug at all), I’m proud of my creation. The resemblance is still somewhat there in my eyes, but it was fun to throw around clay for a while and forget about school for those two hours.

Pounding clay on the table really lets out frustration. The Johnson museum is beautiful on a Sunday afternoon. I love going to the clay event at the Johnson Museum. As a Cornell student I always feel as if I do not have time for relaxation and fun. I will talk myself out of doing things for myself. This event is great because it gave me time to relax and explore my artistic side. I made a wonderful Shark mug hat I now have filled with seashells from my trip to the beach over fall break. Everytime I look at it I am reminded of two great memories that let the stress melt away. I highly recommend coming to the next clay event at the Johnson if you haven’t gone before.

“You have to create your life. You have to carve it, like a sculpture.” – William Shatner

The weekend prior to this event my parents had come up to visit me for parent’s weekend. Moving away from my parents for college had been one of the most difficult transitions I’ve had to go through, being an only child I never really imagined I’d have to move away so soon. The morning after they left, I attended this event with my friends and enjoyed it a lot more than I had expected to. As I sculpted my pot, I was amazed just thinking about the magnificent creations we as humans can create with our own two hands- the full autonomy we have over creating something and shaping it into whatever we want it to be. It was this realization that gave way to another realization- that I had moved so far away from home to create a future for my self- to sculpt my future and myself into someone that not only my parents would be proud of, but  I would be as well.

This event reminded me of the field trips that I went on in elementary. We went on those trips just because, you know? Trips in high school had to be “educational” to be approved. But when you were young, you were taken to the zoo, to the movies, to pottery painting just because it was fun. When I saw the clay sculpting event at the Johnson’s, I signed up for it just because I knew it would be fun. After a tough week, it was a great way to destress and be reminded that I should take time off just to have fun.

I decided to make a plain cup with a lid on top. Although I won’t be drinking out of it, it’s pretty useful for holding the small things on my shelf.

After a long awaited blog post, I can finally present my beauty that  is the clay sculpture that I made.

Here is an artist’s rendition of what it would look like if I had it. Trust me, it looks just as divine as it does in the image.

The Clay Sculpting event at the Johnson’s Museum was innovative and recreational. I liked how the person explained the steps to sculpt a mug using clay. She showed us how to slap the clay with the table and use utensils to mold shapes. The people who were in my table were enthusiastic and creative in making their creations. I enjoyed playing with clay and making my own mug because it was an arts and craft activity that we don’t do often in college. This activity felt like I was in my art class in middle school where we painted pictures and created different art forms. Overall, I had a great time making my own mug, and I appreciated the beauty of creating something from scratch.

Art is one of the oldest forms of human expression. For me personally, it is a genuine struggle because I have very few artistic bones in my body if any at all. It was nice to take a break from the stress of studying and instead put my energy into making a clay structure reminiscent of a cup. The discussion of the different ways to form a mug was quite interesting and I found the discussion of the mugs that were on display to be rather intriguing. The artist used vibrant blues and soft, toned, down reds and yellows to accent a beautifully crafted mug. I would argue that the best feature of the mug was the actual form. The mug was curved in an S shape, which upon the first look created an illusion of congruency across the mug. Looking at it straight on, it looked like a regular mug, however, as you get closer to it you realize the mug has a different form than you originally thought. I think this concept of change upon closer inspection can be applied to daily life. We tend to judge situations based on initial inspection and assumptions but should take care to consider viewing it in different ways.

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the Clay Sculpting event that the Johnson Museum helped sponsor. I had worked with clay a little as a child, but that was in a classroom setting, where we were focused on learning different techniques. The environment this time was very different — in a cozy downstairs room in the Johnson Museum, I felt very far away from the stressful, academic side of Cornell.

The clay container that I made was much less attractive than I had hoped, since I didn’t take much time smoothing out the sides. Nonetheless, whenever I see my malformed mug in my room, I remember how relaxing I felt while making it and remember that I should take breaks and take time to just enjoy being myself.

My first thought when I read “Clay Sculpting at the Johnson Museum” was that it would probably be a very messy and hands-on kind of event. To be fair, I wasn’t wrong. Once our group all gathered in the workshop of the Johnson Museum, our instructor showed us the “slab building” technique that we would be using–it involved a lot of throwing the clay and molding it with our hands. Although this part of the event was just as messy and hands-on as I had predicted, it actually wasn’t so bad. Molding the clay into the correct shapes for a mug was fun, and I got really into trying to make my clay the perfect shape and length. The clay dried on our hands into a kind of gray powder that was easy to dust off.

It was interesting that despite trying to make one of the simplest things (a plain dish, no handle) I still found it very difficult to make it in a way that satisfied me. It was lopsided by the end and had crude, unfinished edges, and though I love having something useful that I made, I can still acknowledge that it’s pretty ugly. It got me thinking, though, about a study I once heard about. Apparently when one group is told they have one week to make 100 pots, and one group is told they have one week to make 10 pots (but as perfectly as possible), the group told to make 100 pots actually makes better, more perfect pots by the end of the week. It gets at that idea that through experience, you improve and get better, whereas just working for a long time at one thing to make it as perfect as possible will not get you very far. I definitely can see how this is true, since just working at one simple thing for a long time did not improve it much at all.

Playing with clay taught me the importance of planned execution. When I walked into Johnson I did not know what we were making, I assumed we were going to make something super artsy. I was a little disappointed when I heard we were making mugs because to me I thought I already know how to make those. I wanted to immediately get into the clay and start working, but that was not how things were going to go. We first sat down to a demonstration on how to form the base, the cup, and the handle. While watching the instructor I realized that I was going to go about my mug the wrong ways. Sometimes when we have work ahead of us we want to immediately jump in and get to work, we do this with the mindset of this is the best way to get things done.  But sometimes you have to sit back and take things slow. Not everything is a race, somethings are better done slow than quickly. I am glad that I took time with my mug instead of rushing it. It was a soothing activity that allowed me to relax while still keeping my mind active. It also mad me realize that I need to spend more time doing things that I enjoy. Just like the story of the Tortoise and the Hare speed does not always mean doing the best. Sometimes you need to slow down.

Last Sunday I was able to attend the event at the Johnson Museum of Art where we made our own mugs! This was definitely one of my favorite events because the activity itself allowed me to relax and have fun. It is quite a stressful time and being able to relax in art and learn how to make something new was exactly what I needed. I was also able to find a bit of my creativity and apply it to my mug. In between the activity we were also able to see a few wonderfully crafted mugs that were on display. I loved seeing their different styles and the overall color schemes the artist used is what truly caught my eye. I believe we were told that the artist was inspired by the glass windows found in churches. I thought it was beautiful. I will try to incorporate some of it into the painting of my mug. We cannot drink out of the mugs we made but we can make them really good decoration pieces and I am excited to see where I will put mine. I am really thankful for this event, it really helped!

When I returned to the Johnson Museum to sculpt more with clay, I was fully expecting us to make representations of fruit again. However, this time Annmarie had us make mugs. As it turns out, mugs offered more freedom that fruit; they all have a standard shape and guidelines to make sure that the mug is structurally sound, but after the all that you have a lot of room to explore. Animals and plants were popular inspiration. There were mugs based on tree trunks, dogs, owls, whales, and flower petals. It was interesting to see the creativity that everyone had, all from the original base, walls, and handle. No two mugs were completely alike.

I had fun smashing my wet clay onto the table, peeling it off, and eventually creating a mug with what was supposed to be a vine wrapped around it. Unfortunately, the life of my mug was tragically cut short after I accidentally knocked it off my shelf mere hours after taking it home. However, the pleasant memory of having a study break during a stressful week and getting my hands dirty is much more lasting. After all, I feel that crafting is mostly about enjoying the journey to a finished product and not just being laser focused on the final product. Sometimes the final product doesn’t turn out exactly the way you expected or wanted it to, but having fun with it makes it worth it.

I used to do pottery when I was younger and I was never very good at it, but I loved the feeling of clay and working with it. Although this type of clay couldn’t be fired, I still really like what I made and will definitely use it to hold small items. It was a lot of fun seeing how different people took the simple idea of the mug and gave it their own creative spins. This event was a great way to relax a little and I’m also glad we got to see an exhibit in the museum and learn a little more about art.

Its been about 2 years since I’ve played with clay and got to be artistic and creative. At first I guess I was a little hesitant to get my hands all messy and play around with the clay. However, it was a fun experience and I got to take my mind off of prelims and all those other stresses of the world. Also, it was my first time in the Johnson. I got to see that some of my fellow Rose scholars are super talented and creative. To be honest, the ‘artwork’ that I ended up making wasn’t all that, but it was a fun experience and something new for me!!! The uphill walk up to the museum was cold and lengthy, but when we got there I was excited to be there. Not only did we get to do some ceramics work, but our guide was nice enough to give us a mini tour of some of the sections of the museum. I definitely want to go back there and explore some more, also I would definitely want to try out sculpting again, and maybe use a bit more creativity so that I can create something memorable.

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.

Sculpting at the Johnson was the perfect way to de-stress after my prelims! After a week of doing nothing but studying, this was a great way to relax with my friends from Rose House. I’ve always liked doing art as a means of stress relief, but I have had trouble finding the time to do so. Last Sunday afternoon was the perfect time to take a break and work with an art medium that I rarely get to work with. Sculpting with clay was highly therapeutic, especially throwing it onto the table to flatten it. Overall, my friends and I had a lot of fun and were able to forget about the stress of prelims for a little bit. The Johnson is also beautiful, and as someone who enjoys art, it was very cool to see. It was also very inspiring to create in the museum with beautiful works of art everywhere. Even though we cannot drink from the mugs we made, they add a nice decoration for our dorm room. So far, this was my favorite Rose Scholar event.

Okay, I know my creation from the short 1 hour in Johnson Art Museum could hardly be called ‘art’.

But it’s definitely an immersion. And, although I complained to my friend how ugly my pen pot was due to the fleeting time that I could hardly do any refinement, I still cherished my work and took it back to my room, bought paint and sandpaper, looking forward to doing more things with it.

There is something peculiar about clay. When you see that wet, soft texture, in the prospect that it will become dry and permanent after you do something with it, you feel that you can see everything ahead of you. Everything, birds, flowers, trees, cloud, stars…the ability of creation gives you power, as if you yourself called out “Lux!” at the first day of chaos.

When our instructor started to show us how we could slap the clay onto the table to make a nice smooth slab, in the absence of a clay wheel that we generally see in workshops, my mind wandered back to somewhere around the Palaeolithic era. I imagined myself living in a surrounding with no complicated technology and life was as simple as it could be. I imagined myself being someone in a tribe who particularly makes pottery for a living. New things every day, each piece adding some color and usefulness to life itself.

The imagination could only be a window to touch upon the past. But buried in numbers and data, we seldom sit down and contemplate, trying to touch the texture of life. I have always been a huge fan of various handicrafts, and there is one favourite thing about them that I came up myself the other day. We are curiously fond of making and often making things that would seem permanent, at least compared to our own lifespan. That is probably because our life is too fleeting, and sometimes there are only memories that support us, which could fade. Creating things and letting them stay is like the process of grasping hold of a handful of flowing time and trying to make them frozen. For every piece of handicraft, there is time woven into it, and they support in some sense an evidence of that we had lived, and lived vividly.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go to the Johnson Museum to attend a clay sculpting workshop. The instructor made making the clay mug look very easy – it took her less than five minutes to create one. When I sat down to create my own, I thought I would be able to finish quickly and spend most of the time decorating but it took me almost half an hour just to get the pieces together! One of the fascinating techniques I learned while I was there is that you can smooth out the cracks in your clay by taking some sponge and water and just dabbing it on the cracks. This technique served as an “eraser” for all the cracks and bumps I somehow managed to create on my mug!

In college, I never really get the opportunity to do arts and crafts anymore so being able to get my hands dirty with the clay and being able to make my own creation was super fun. Overall, clay sculpting was such a nice break from work and I felt refreshed after the two hour session. I’d love to attend this event again!

In the midst of a stressful time at Cornell, participating in the clay sculpting workshop at the Johnson was a nice break from school. Although I am not artistic in any respect, taking two hours out of my day to do something more creative had a very positive and therapeutic effect. The workshop itself reminded me of the gratifying times I had in art class in elementary school and allowed me to feel a bit more worry-free like I was back then. Before attending the workshop, my mind was focused on the problem set I had due later that day as well as on the upcoming prelims I had to study for and even on the other work I needed to do for the week. However, despite my not-so-positive attitude going into workshop, my mood changed as I got to get my hands dirty with the clay and make a mug. I admit that it isn’t the most aesthetic or imaginative design but as I sit and write this post, it sits on my desk reminding me of how nice it is just to do something because it is fun. Participating in the workshop served as a reminder that I need to enjoy myself more and reconnect with my inner child.

I was really hoping that the Rose Scholars Program would provide arts and crafts event and I really enjoyed creating my own mug. It was my second time visiting Johson Museum of Art and I enjoyed learning about some ceramic artworks that were displayed. Learning about different skills that were used to create these ceramic mugs helped me to understand the artwork a little bit more. Making miniatures out of oven bake polymer clays is my hobby so I was especially excited for this event. I learned to make a mug by sculpting air dry clay. This event reminded me of the art classes that I had in elementary school and how I would present my final work to my parents. Clay sculping event was a nice way to relieve stress and set my mind free from other works. I am excited to paint and decorate my puppy mug 48 hours later. I hope that the Rose Scholars Program will have more art related events.

I never thought I would do a Rose Scholars event that would put my clay sculpting abilities to the test. We were instructed and taught how to create clay cups/mugs that would then harden after 48 hours. My parents were here for family weekend, and I thought it was cool that I could give them the clay cup from the event. It reminded me of when I was a kid and brought art projects home for them to keep. If there’s one main lesson I learned from clay sculpting, it’s that you should try to go out of your comfort zone. It is important to attend events that you wouldn’t normally see yourself going to, and in the process, you’ll meet some great new people along the way. There’s so many people at Cornell that you may never meet, but I think it’s important to put yourself out there to try and open yourself to new friendships or opportunities.

Looking at the ceramic mug I made at the Johnson Museum it’s amazing to think that this was once just dirt. Clay really is just dirt that is turned into a paste. The most simple component of nature can be turned into art.

Dirt can be seen as useless and valueless. But if you think about it, dirt offers us life and beauty. Not only has dirt allowed for trees, flowers, and grass to grow but it’s allowed me to make this mug.

The simplest components of life can be turned into joy. In our society we equate our happiness based off of having the most up to date technology, so we can watch Netflix and YouTube. Those medias have allowed others to create, but we don’t really take it amongst ourselves to create. I found my time at the Johnson Museum so much fun! There’s just something about turning nothing into something.

I’ve never really done sculpting before, but I felt like I was a natural at it. With the moist clay in my hands I got to use my imagination. There’s sort of a child like wonder involved with art since you’re using so much of your imagination. I personally wasn’t worried about it not looking good. I sort of just let my hands and imagination do the work.

I think everyone is artistic. People like to joke that they’re awful at art, but I feel that if you silence your mind and just dive in you’ll find that you are good at it.

In fact, I believe humans are meant to create. Creating allows me to let go of anything that is on my mind and silence it. I can convey happiness, sorrow, love, despair, and victory through art. It has the ability to be therapeutic, to turn a negative into something positive in the world.

Whenever I go to museums and see really old pieces of art I wonder if the person who made the masterpiece ever imagined that hundreds and even perhaps thousands of years later someone would still be marveling at their art work. Was it on their mind? Or were they just living their life unconcerned with what others would think? Their art is their mark on the world. It’s their legacy that proves that they walked this Earth and impacted the lives of others. I look at my mug now and wonder if someone in the future would look at it and feel happiness.

Today I went to a clay sculpting class at the Johnson museum where I made a mug. More than just fun, I found the activity highly therapeutic. The workshop leader instructed us to continuously hurl down our balls of clay onto the table. The loud SMACK the clay made as it hit the table felt so stress and anger releasing. After a long week of studying and worrying about prelims, it was a nice change of pace to use another part of my brain and spend time relaxing and creating. The workshop leader also explained to us the origin of two clay mugs on display in the museum. I came to the Johnson only a couple of weeks ago with one of my friends who visited Cornell from home and we admired these same mugs then. It was wonderful to see them again, this time with new information about the artist and her techniques.

As a self-identified horrible artist, it was nice to go out of my comfort zone and attempt to create as nice of a mug as possible. The result was not the most beautiful creation ever, but it is always gratifying to be able to own things that you have made yourself. I am happy I got to take time out of a full day of studying to mindlessly create in a comfortable, fun space.

Today, it is the first time I use clay to make things. It is very good event for me since I create my own cup with the clap. I and five more people are sitting together using different tools to shape our creative cup or mugs. I really like this event. I hope we can have more events like this. I meet many new friends as well. Really Great Experience >>>