{"id":1252,"date":"2017-05-25T16:25:16","date_gmt":"2017-05-25T21:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rctc.edu\/echo\/?p=1252"},"modified":"2026-09-17T10:36:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T15:36:25","slug":"a-hands-on-experience-european-tour-reinforces-passion-for-ceramics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/a-hands-on-experience-european-tour-reinforces-passion-for-ceramics\/","title":{"rendered":"A hands-on experience: European tour reinforces passion for ceramics"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>By Abigail Furutani<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Staff Photographer<\/p>\n<p>(Photos by Abigail Furutani and Sandra Furutani)<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-1255\" src=\"\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSC_0010-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"pottery classroom\" width=\"333\" height=\"221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSC_0010-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSC_0010-768x509.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSC_0010.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 333px) 100vw, 333px\" \/>I decided to take ceramics at RCTC as an elective because I had heard good things about it from friends and acquaintances. I began with Ceramics I \u00d2 and I have to admit that at first I was really frustrated because some skills, like centering, took me a long time to learn.<\/p>\n<p>But I stayed with it, persevered and after awhile, I fell in love with ceramics and never wanted to leave the studio! I went on to take Ceramics II, and after that, I definitely knew that I wanted ceramics to be part of my gap year plans.<\/p>\n<p>I was fortunate to be able to take classes in Stoke-on-Trent in England with David Frith, a well-known potter with a specialty in glazing. It was an amazing experience! I met some great people, and I learned a lot.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-1257 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_0853-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"hands throwing clay\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_0853-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_0853-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_0853-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>I met a woman who had a lot of trouble when she started out \u00d2 like I did \u00d2 but now works as a demonstrator for a local pottery museum. It was an example to me of never giving up on something you love to do.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-1258 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_3221-2-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"pottery wheel stations\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_3221-2-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_3221-2-768x1024.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/>Following my classes, I was also able to visit other ceramics museums throughout the Stoke-on-Trent area, as well as in France and Germany, and learn some of the history of this incredible art form.<\/p>\n<p>My time and experience in England helped me develop my skills, my understanding of and my love for ceramics. It is a big part of my life now, and I hope to someday have a studio of my own. Who knows, maybe someday I\u2019ll be working in a museum in Stoke-on-Trent!<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-1260 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_0836-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"fired pottery on shelves\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_0836-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_0836-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_0836-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Abigail Furutani Staff Photographer (Photos by Abigail Furutani and Sandra Furutani) I decided to take ceramics at RCTC as an elective because I had heard good things about it from friends and acquaintances. I began with Ceramics I \u00d2 and I have to admit that at first I was really frustrated because some skills, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arts-and-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1252\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}