I’ve included a picture of my finished product.  It’s been a while since this event.  It’s May now! How time flies.  Anyways, since then my clay sculptures have dried.  If you can’t tell, on the right is a strawberry and the left is a raspberry.  Yum.  Why did I sculpt fruit?  Myself and the other attendees were encouraged to base our work on ancient Peruvian ceramics.  We were shown various water containers, each especially made according to the main job of the sculptor.  For example, a fisherman’s container would look like a fish.  Most pieces were shaped like a fruit grown in the Peru at that time.

I was nervous at first but the museum staff showed us the proper techniques to make a stable and pretty structure.  You can’t tell from the picture but my strawberry is actually a container.  Isn’t that fun!  Shout out to GRF Magdala for organizing such a fun and enriching event.  Maybe I’ll go again sometime and take my friends. (:

Last Thursday, several other Rose scholars and I, together with GRF, attended a weekly clay workshop in Johnson Museum of Art with no prior experience required. Before we got our hands dirty, the instructor guided us through some clay collections in the museum. What really surprised me is how the utility and beauty of sculpting with clay can be combined so well. I really like some of the collections in which the shape of the sculptures with clay represent the jobs of the owner, such as farmer.

For our workshop, the theme is fruit. I created an apple, which is the classical fruit representing harvest. The instructor gave us hand by hand instruction and always encouraged us no matter what kind of fruits we choose. Even if we may not very proficient in making sculpture with clay, we did feel the creativity brought by the infinite possibilities of the art. There is no designated form for any specific fruit, and we can create them in any form we what, as long as we experience happiness and fulfillment of creating our own sculpture.

Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to go to the Johnson Museum and, as the event is titled, sculpt with clay. While the event coordinator, Annmarie, did show us some interesting pieces of pottery, the main activity was being able to create our own fruit- inspired sculptures. I used to craft quite a bit (although not generally with clay), and I had been looking forward to this event since GRF Magdala had mentioned it back in early March. I found the ambiance of everyone getting their hands dirty and encouraging and praising each other’s handiwork to be very relaxing, especially since that week and the previous week had been very stressful for me. It got me thinking about the benefits of crafting, whether it be knitting, sculpting, macrame, or something else entirely. After coming back, I went online and found articles stating that crafting may, among other things, protect the brain from aging, relieve stress and anxiety, and increase happiness, by putting the mind in a state similar to meditation and releasing dopamine. I’m not sure if these articles are overstating the benefits of crafts, especially since the studies are relatively new, but I certainly came out of the sculpting session much happier than I was going into it. If there are similar arts and crafts events in the future, I will be sure to sign up as soon as possible.

On a snowy day in April, I was feeling ready for spring to come even more than usual. I wanted the warmth and to see the missing sun again. On that day I went to the Johnson Museum and worked with clay. It was nice to do something with my hands instead of my mind for once. We made fruits and vegetables that we were eager to have this summer. My piece of clay became a watermelon. It was fun to do something artistic and I learned a lot about the museum while I was there. I have spent almost an entire year at Cornell and yet before that day I had never even gone to the art museum. There are so many programs that I have not utilized there and I cannot wait to make use of them now that I know where to go.