Yesterday in the studio of the Johnson Museum, another Rose Scholar from across the table said, “I can’t remember the last time I got my hands this dirty  and didn’t care,” and I couldn’t have agreed with her more. I’d never heard of Studio Thursday until sometime last week, let alone been to one, and I can honestly say that this  event was probably my favorite one out of all the others that I’ve participated in. When we first arrived, we were shown beautiful clay sculptures from ancient South and Central American groups, each one unique in its own way.

After that, we were taken into the studio to start designing our own masterpieces. Given an apron and a block of either gray or red clay, we had the freedom to roll, mold, and shape to our heart’s desire. Most of us in the studio were Rose Scholars, but there was also a family with two young children there and watching them work was the highlight of my afternoon. The dad carried his son, who was maybe 4 or 5 years old, around the room to see what everyone else was working on. Someone at the table next to me was molding a face that the little boy said looked just like his daddy, while the person across from him was making a vessel so tall and smooth, I was tempted to ask him if I could take it home for myself. (I didn’t.) One of the girls at my table made the cutest clay hippo in existence (that may or may not be an exaggeration), another made a turtle, and a third made a sunflower.

As for my sculpture, at first I tried to mold a bowl with a cat face and cat ears on it, but since I’m not exactly the most artistically inclined person on Earth, that was a disaster. My second attempt was just a cat, but that too was quickly smushed back into my original ball of gray clay, so instead–since my stomach was starting to growl–I asked for extra clay and molded a hamburger and fries. Granted, when I asked the student intern what she thought my models looked like, she said a mushroom from the Mario video game and a mortar and pestle (the things pharmacists use to crush pills). Close enough, right?

I’m so glad I was able to attend this event, and I’m looking forward to going to more Studio Thursdays in the future!