November 29, 2023

“I went to a college fair in DC, and I met Tonya from Bennington,” London recalled. “And I just remember her saying, ‘I don't know what it is about you, but you need to visit. You need to see Bennington in person.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, that's interesting.’”

London visited Bennington in person on a Saturday and then Syracuse University on the following Sunday. So, in one weekend, he laughed, “I had the opposite experiences.” Then, "I really, really clicked with Bennington." 

I really, really clicked with Bennington. Sawyer London '24

As he continued through his college search process, Bennington rose to the top of his list. When it came down to Bennington and Oberlin, he chose Bennington. “I hadn't had the chance to visit Oberlin, so I kind of took that as a sign that Bennington’s my place.” 

London has taken a broad range of courses: food studies and art history, sculpture and textiles, environmental studies and public action. He worked one Field Work Term for Cafeteria Culture, a small environmental nonprofit in New York. “That was a really great experience, just because I loved the people that were working there. They are all just so passionate.” 

When he landed for his third Field Work Term at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City, he felt he had really found his niche. “I have just realized that my work is super close to the craft movement and the craft mediums, and so being at a craft museum and being surrounded by that work, while creating my own work, has been super great as well.” He also worked as an assistant for a ceramic and jewelry artist couple. 

“There's so much I have to learn, so I think I just really want to work under artists and learn as much as I can and just do those annoying jobs for the intern,” he laughed. He worked in both capacities, helping put together an exhibition for the museum and assisting artists, this past summer. 

London notes that the entirely self-directed nature of the Bennington experience can be challenging for some. 

“If you want something done or you want to figure something out, you really have to take that under your own wing and figure it out. I've only gotten as far as I have gotten in ceramics because I've studied it for a lot of my life, but also because I've asked questions of the faculty. I've said, 'can I fire a kiln?' 'Can I do this?' 'Can I do that?'” 

“There is still scaffolding,” he says of the framework he has received from faculty, but asking questions and advocating for himself has been a big part of his success at Bennington. 

I created my own little planning committee. I'm not afraid to just really grab it and just say I want to go all in. That does kind of have to be what you do. It's not like you just sign up for a major and take those 10 classes. I really had to figure out, and I'm still figuring out, exactly what I want to do.

“What's really kind of crystallized for me as I come into my last couple of years is the fact that you really do find your place,” he said. He uses his own experience as an example. He has come to focus on ceramics. 

“I just love the studio. I'm in there as much as I can be during the week and during the weekend. I am there eight hours a day. I spend a lot of time with the ceramics professors. I just had to forge that bond. That wasn't really set out for me. It took a bit to get to know, and it's still a little bit up in the air. But you just have to kind of find it for yourself. Now I feel like I'm in it.”  

One of his most important questions has been how to use discarded ceramics materials, often hazardous and costly to dispose of, to create new work. 

“I found a ton of old buckets of glaze in the studio. And I asked the technician, ‘What is this for?’ and he said ‘It's all yours.’ So I've really been on this journey of testing and experimenting and mixing and layering. I am trying to find how I can use this stuff in my work.” 

“These little containers of glaze, maybe a cup worth of waste glaze, are going to be thrown away,” he explains. “I take it, and I transform it into a sculpture.”

Right now, he is testing the boundaries between functional and sculptural work and learning to balance two sometimes contradictory aims; he wants to use materials others have discarded while also staying true to the look and feel of the work he wants to produce, including his understanding of painting, composition, color, and texture. 

“I'm still in the experimentation phase. I have a lot of work to do, but this past term, especially, has really been a huge shift for me.”

For his last year at Bennington, London is thinking about making larger sculptural works and “just really being as much of a part of the community as I can.” While he is considering an MFA in ceramics, he plans to assist artists or work in fashion for a year or two after graduating. 

Perhaps most importantly, London plans to continue using the Plan Process he learned at Bennington. 

"I think the Plan Process is actually a really great kind of learning experience, because I think once you get out of school, you have to develop your own plan committee in life. You have to really find the people that support you, in your studies, personal life, and just surround yourself with mentors and advisors, your boss, your co-workers, and just really find that direction."

Learn more about studying visual arts at Bennington. For information about becoming a student at Bennington, visit bennington.edu/hyphenate.