BY: AIMEE SHRAMKO
“Clay is responsive, in a way few materials are. The moment you touch it, it pushes back. That relationship – the give and take between the artist and the material creates a feeling that the work is alive long before it reaches the kiln”.(1)
What could be more satisfying than plunging your hands into cold, soft, squishy, pliable clay? Rolling long tubes into snakes, flattening them into pancake-like circles, and feeling the warmth from your palm coax the clay into shape. Happy memories of Kindergarten Play-Doh sculptures come to mind. On a rainy morning in early October, twenty OLLI members enrolled in the course “The Clay Connection Project: Foundations, Clay & Connection” got to do just that.
As we went around the room to introduce ourselves it was reassuring to hear that, like myself, most of OLLI participants were novices at working with clay. In true OLLI fashion, we had come together to experience something totally new and to challenge our thinking.
An intergenerational learning experience designed to bring together undergraduate and OLLI students, The Clay Connection was inspired by graduate student and scholarship recipient, Allie Thurgood, a ceramic artist from Flagstaff, AZ. The “hands-on” workshop held on the main ASU campus in the School of Art emphasized both the “technical fundamentals of ceramics and the power of shared experiences”.
The class is one in a series organized by OLLI Coordinator Nate Sawyer, and was made possible through a generous gift from Phoenix-based CDH Charitable Foundation. CDH (2) focuses “on funding college scholarships for Arizona students, particularly those attending public universities and showing an interest in public service”.
In a partnership with OLLI, currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students at ASU are invited to apply for CDH’s Intergenerational Learning Service Scholarships. Two scholarships of $7,500 each are awarded annually to two creative, passionate recipients to design, teach, and facilitate a community-driven, artistic project on intergenerational learning (3)”. The class they design is then offered to OLLI students as part of the curriculum through the ASU School of Art.
Nate, who helped to shape the program, took on the task of “thinking about intergenerational learning in new ways” and looked for ways to create an experience for OLLI members that was both “intentional and meaningful”.
Allie, the scholarship recipient for 2025 academic year, was looking for “more community involvement” and ways to expand her learning “beyond her age group” as a graduate student. She approached her professors asking for ways to avoid “becoming isolated” from those outside of academia. One savvy professor suggested she apply for the CDH scholarship. The partnership between Nate, Allie, Raechel Miller, Student and Community Engagement Program Manager for ASU’s School of Art, and of course our director, Jared Swerzenski, made The Clay Connection experience possible.
When asked “why clay?” Allie replied that she loves the “tactile feel” and the “3D capability” of working with clay. She started her artistic pursuit in animation but now prefers the “direct physical connection” with her medium vs. “staring at a computer screen”. She envisions a hybrid career as a ceramic technician and instructor, perhaps at a community center or college. As a technician she is responsible for studio maintenance which involves firing pieces in gas and electric kilns. Her favorite part of being a technician is exploring the science behind transformation of clay into art.
Photo Credit: Raechel Miller
OLLI member Robin Spencer is a regular participant in the intergenerational offerings and has completed three art-centered courses. She “loves engaging with undergraduates and listening to their stories”. Robin commented on how “quickly and efficiently” Allie was able to educate us on clay and bring us to a new understanding of its flexibility and capabilities.
Allie believes the “best way to apply learning is through teaching” and designed the class to “introduce participants to the basic techniques of hand-building with clay” (4) while weaving in “meaningful dialogue and storytelling”. To encourage the development of our story, she provided a list of prompts to get us started. Some of these were:
- What was one of your earliest memories?
- Was there a moment in your life that changed everything?
- What is a piece of advice you’d give your younger self?
- When was the last time you truly felt alive?
We then set about creating a piece that reflected the answer to one of those questions. I crafted a bowl covered in heart shapes which symbolized both happy and difficult memories for me; the love I shared with my late husband, and a day that forever changed my life, December 28th, 2024 when I reconnected with a longtime friend who has become the light of my life. The empty bowl represents both the hollowness and absence of a former life and the potential for it to be filled with new love.
Photo Credit: Aimee Shramko
Robin, an avid bird watcher, created a stunning sculpture of a hummingbird which was both delicate and intricate.
Photo Credit: Raechel Miller
The class then formed groups of two or three and together with the undergraduate participants, we created a group clay sculpture. My group discovered we all had a fondness for wine and sculpted a bunch of grapes to symbolize our newfound friendship and connection. Each group was given the chance to present the story behind their piece for all to enjoy.
Photo Credit: Raechel Miller
Lastly, Allie had us choose from a variety of glazes for our pieces which she would apply for us after class before sending them to the kiln to dry. As a parting gift, we learned that our group and individual pieces would be displayed at the School of Art from November 24-December 4th. Some of our pieces are shown below.
Photo Credits: Allie Thurgood
And - good news for OLLI members - Allie’s one-session class was so popular that two sessions will be offered this spring, so do look for it in the catalog now available!
Thank you all, and especially Allie, for a joyful Saturday morning!
PHOTO CREDITS:
- Raechel Miller, Student and Community Engagement Program Manager School of Art, Herberger Institute for Design & the Arts Arizona State University
- Aimee Shramko
- Allie Thurgood
NOTES & RESOURCES:
- Phoenix-based artist Eleanor Hazelton
- CDH is not an acronym, it is the name of the foundation
- Intergenerational learning involves people of all ages learning together and from each other
- These included “pinching, coiling, and slab work”
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