Dear clay, you make me feel so good...

Friday I helped with the visiting artist’s installation piece.  That was a great experience.  I really enjoyed helping out.  It is great to be exposed to different artists and hear different viewpoints and experiences.  I made slip and got to dip a few of the post-consumer items for the piece.  I learned a lot this weekend in helping get ready for the show.  I am so sorry that the opening had to be postponed due to the snow.

I had a pretty stressful week.  I experience a considerable amount of anxiety when making decisions, and this past weekend I decided to switch my BFA to ceramics.  After things settle a little, I know I will be happier with this decision.  I have battled myself over this for quite a while (even before I took my first college ceramics course).  I feel foolish, for lack of a better word, for switching and being so indecisive (again).  Gees, I have already been in college since 2004.  I really need not worry about what others think of my career as a college student.  This is what I want to be doing.  I do not understand how some people have a “real” job, or at least work a substantial amount of hours a week, and go to school full time.  It is so hard, particularly trying to do studios and upper-level courses.  I am so thankful for my work-study.

This week was all about throwing.  I prefer to throw with the Matt Long Porcelain the Sue and I made the first day of school. I am so pleased with my progress and improvement.  I threw on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday.  I have managed to keep about 29 cylinders that I feel are suitable.  I am going to try to get 40 by Monday.  I won’t have any problems as long as campus isn’t closed this weekend.  I hope this snow doesn’t interfere with my studio plans for the weekend.  I am really feeling for some of classmates who are struggling to get their 20!  This weekend I would like to finish my cylinders and run maybe 2 more layers of color on my printmaking project.  

I am still waiting for the bedpan I ordered on E-bay to come in so I can start working on my hand-built project this coming week.  I should also start researching and testing some more ways to print on clay.  I am decently satisfied with the printing I did last semester, but I would like to tweak and improve.  I also need to remember to bring in the buttons I have been collecting so I can make a mold.  I have an idea for a piece I would like to do that involves some molds of my face.  I was so mentally unprepared this past week.  My brain was just so preoccupied dealing with the stress of the switch and some NCECA mess.  At least I made a lot of progress on the wheel.  Dear clay, you make me feel so good...