[ PHOTOSTORY 2: ADITL ] Day in the life of a Ceramics Student

By: Rayne Deese 

The Georgia Southern Ceramics and Sculpture Lab displays student projects and has different stations for students. Students can come to the lab at anytime and work on projects throughout the week. 

Frankie Ryan puts her apron on to begin setting up for a pottery project. Frankie is a senior at Georgia Southern University. 

Frankie Ryan sets up her station to begin working on her next project assignment. She is dipping the newspaper in water in order to create a moist surface for the clay. 

Frankie Ryan molds the clay into a ball with her hands. In order for the clay to be put on the spinning table, the clay needs to be in a ball. 

Frankie Ryan uses the water to mold the clay with her hands. Water is needed in order for the clay to mold correctly. 

By using her fingers, Frankie Ryan creates a hole within the middle of the clay. This is the beginning stages of creating a bowl. 

Frankie Ryan continues to create a bowl with the clay. Her right foot is controlling the speed of the spinner, which helps get even edges. 

Frankie Ryan uses a sponge to create a smooth surface for the bowl. The sponge needs to be soaked in water for this process to work. 

Frankie Ryans point of view of the clay shows the symmetry of the bowl. She takes her foot off of the speed pedal to get a good perspective. 

The tools behind the work. Ceramic students use these tools to help them carve, shape, and form the clay. 

Frankie Ryan points to another students project. "I'm using this bowl as an example for my own," Frankie said. 

Frankie Ryan uses a sculpting tool to get fine edges around the bowl. She has to be very careful or else it could ruin the shape. 

Frankie Ryan puts up the hands behind the work. Frankie was very excited to be done with the sculpting process of her project. 

Frankie Ryan washes her hands. "If you don't wash your hands immediately after sculpting, the clay can dry and be really hard to clean off," Frankie said. 

Frankie Ryan uses a thread to get the bowl off of the spinning wheel. The thread is super thin to help the clay still keep its shape. 

Frankie Ryan smiles next to her bowl. The project is nearly complete but still has one more step to go. 

Frankie Ryan pushes the bowl carefully off of the spinning wheel. "This is the scariest part of the whole process, one wrong move and it's over," Frankie said. 

Frankie Ryan does the final touches to her bowl. She uses a sharp tool to carve off the excess pieces of clay. 

After using a sharp tool to fix the edges of the bowl smooth, Frankie Ryan uses her fingers to help smooth out the edges. Her fingers help get smooth and soft edges. 

The bowl is complete. It will now be left to dry in the lab overnight.