Word: clay
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Examples of resourcefulness abound in the studio. Sally Glazer '72, the technical assistant in charge of the clay room, mixed as much as 600 pounds of clay a week during last semester's peak periods. The purchase of large quantities of studio clay, and the careful use of recycled scrap, meant that Glazer could keep the cost of clay under a nickel a pound. Since ready-mixed clay costs two or three times this amount, the studio saved over $600 on clay for the first semester...
According to Rippe the monetary saving is only a secondary objective. "The real importance of making our own equipment, clay, and so forth," Rippe said, "is to involve students in the total process of making pots. Finding that they can master the whole process gives people an exciting new sense of competence and confidence. Many students have commented on the importance of an opportunity to become more competent and familiar with tools and with using their hands...
DESPITE THE POTTERY'S sustained effort to emphasize the necessity of making equipment, the pottery wobbles on a shaky financial underpinning. All daily operating expenses, including clay and glaze supplies, are paid for by each student's $30 per semester studio fee (contrast this with $75 for instruction in a local commercial course, which doesn't include supplies). With the exception of the initial $1400 allocated to set up the studio, the $30 fee is the only income used for supplies. The only direct financial support has come from South Hose -- Rippe's $1000 salary--and the Radcliffe gym. which...
...people who use the pottery come from all over the University. When it comes to making one's first pot, there's no distinction between faculty, students, and employees. Everyone struggles together; common toiling over a lump of clay levels academic distinctions...
Studio members share one characteristic--most have never made a pot before. For this reason the classes offered are especially important; they help get people started. Rippe feels that examples of good work, and good facilities, are also vital in helping students to progress. "Working with clay is such a new experience for most people at Harvard that no tradition of making really fine pottery yet exists," Rippe explained. "That kind of tradition is necessary in teaching the use of clay. Often you learn more by watching good work than by asking innumerable questions. But to reach that point where...