By: AD Lenhardt – The 1990 movie starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore probably has had as much to do with shaping my profession as Shoji Hamada and Robert Arneson (look them up, I will wait). I would wager that in the nearly three decades since that movie came out, tens of thousands of new students have sought out a studio in which they could “use that spinning thing like they do in the movie”.
I am generally for anything that introduces clay to a wider audience. It is wonderful when I can get a new person hooked and see them come back for class after class. They are interested because they saw a demo (or a youtube video), or took a class in high school, but never got to throw on the wheel. It is great physical therapy and may be recommended by doctors as a way to regain fine motor skills and hand strength. Then there are those who were seduced by Patrick and Demi and want that intimate experience.
However you find your interest in clay, welcome! Come for a one-day workshop and make a project of your very own. If you have time and interest, sign up for one of our 8 week classes. Perhaps you have some experience with clay and would just like to learn from another instructor. Every week I see everyone from the very young to the more experienced in life; people who have been working with clay for years and some who have never touched it before. Best of all is when I see the students who come and fell in love with the material and process the way I did so many years ago.
Come throw on the wheel and learn more about clay at the Ann Arbor Art Center. See our ceramics classes here.
When you are a pit bull, and you love what you do and you are going to continue to grow, that talent will find its way out. –Patrick Swayze
