Bennington Students Explore Creativity and Concept in Ceramics Class

The course, which emphasizes the design and creation of functional yet conceptual ceramic pieces, has inspired students to blend intricate design with thought-provoking themes. Two first-year students, Lu Amaya ’28 and Hazel Haskovec ’28, recently shared their reflections on the class and highlighted the distinct personal connections they've made through ceramics.

Students start their research at Crossett Library, said faculty member Yoko Inoue. They use research as a methodology and a gateway to original designs. 

“To help students to articulate the creative inquiries that steer the conception of their project, I give assignments that broaden their notion of what artistic practice may encompass through research and development,” said Inoue. 

The class received training from Director of Library Access and Research Joe Tucker on how to use the Library of Congress’s classification system to identify an area of interest. They scanned the books they found for imagery that sparked their designs and completed concept drawings before beginning to make their prototypes and plaster molds for production. 

“Each student developed work driven by their true interest,” said Inoue. “This type of provocative exposure, random encounters and discursive emotive experiences during the knowledge acquisition process may be one of the ingredients to push students to take risks in their creative pursuit. So working with clay is not simply shaping three-dimensional forms. This interdisciplinary design process provides Bennington students with invaluable scopes for finding a junction between a broad array of academic interests.” 

Amaya, a Literature, Creative Writing, and History student from the Bronx, entered the course with prior experience in painting ceramics but had never made a ceramic piece from scratch.

“I’ve always been intrigued by the processes and concepts,” she noted.

Her final projects included a muscle-textured mug and a collection of stackable vertebrae pieces, both of which showcased her fascination with anatomical imagery.

“I wanted people to drink from something that makes them think—it’s gross, but I find it fascinating,” Amaya explained, referencing the spinal elements in her design.

Despite some challenges with glazing that resulted in her muscle mugs not turning out as expected, Amaya expressed pride in her vertebrae collection, which met her vision perfectly.

“The most fun part was sculpting the mug and forming its shape,” she shared, noting that the therapeutic nature of ceramics has helped her settle her mind, complementing her academic studies.

On the other side of the creative spectrum, Haskovec, a student from San Francisco studying Ceramics, Sculpture, Physics, and Violin, was drawn to the course as a way to expand her skill set. Having worked with clay before, she was eager to explore slip casting and mold-making techniques.

“I wanted to learn new ways of producing pottery,” she said. 

Haskovec’s final project was a series of “self-defense” cups—pieces designed to invoke thought around everyday objects turned into tools for self-defense. She liked her key and teeth cups, in particular, for the statement they can make, especially among those who haven’t been seen as women or never needed to hold keys between their fingers before. 

“I’m really pleased with how it turned out,” she said. "I like that my cups spark thought or discomfort in the user.” 

The process, while challenging, taught Haskovec patience and an appreciation for stoneware's simplicity. She admitted that the course might shape her future at Bennington, particularly in ceramics. “I know I’ll be content if a lot of my time is dedicated to ceramics,” she said.

The course has not only expanded technical skills but also fostered a creative space for students to engage deeply with both their craft and the world around them. 

“The highest qualities of work should be manifested in both attained forms with technical excellence and innovative material investigations and its distinctively effective applications,” said Inoue. “I appreciated most the imaginative forms they created through the journey of visual explorations. I want to foster in the students the idea that intellectual stimulation and critical consciousness are compelling and integral parts of an invigorating creative experience that lead to relevant, strong, and distinct forms of artistic expression. I think each student achieved this quality."