• Natalie

    Eleanor Roosevelt’s Reassuring Advice

    I used to consider myself shy. I no longer do, for I can confidently conduct interviews for my campus newspaper, lead productive consultations as a tutor at Pomona College’s Writing Center, and eagerly participate in class discussions. As long as there is a concrete topic at hand, I know what to say. But I must admit that when I encounter a purely social situation, my shyness sometimes returns. If a conversation has no obvious “goal,” I am prone to feel aimless and at sea. So I was reassured to learn that one of my inspirations, Eleanor Roosevelt, once felt the same. When Eleanor Roosevelt married Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1905,…

  • Natalie

    The Power of Hope

      “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” For the past couple of years, I’ve been enamored with Eleanor Roosevelt’s famous quote. Reassured and inspired by her confidence that the dreams of today can shape the future of tomorrow, I wrote it on my whiteboard the moment I moved into my dorm room so that I could see it every day. But lately, I’ve begun to wonder if this quote expresses naïve idealism and callow faith in our ability to achieve our dreams. Eight years ago, Barack Obama inspired us with his call for hope. Could such a call ring true today? Is there…

  • Natalie

    Natalie’s Favorite Books in 2015

    Given that we are now 16 days into 2016 (how did that happen?!), this post is a little late…. Nevertheless, below is a short list of a few of my favorite reads of 2015. May your New Year be filled with thought-provoking, fascinating, and delicious books! Haven by Ruth Gruber — In 1944, Gruber (a journalist, photographer and humanitarian who is now 104 years old) embarked on a little known journey to bring 1000 European refugees to the US. “Haven” is her moving account of the refugees’ journey and their resettlement in New York. It is a story about courage, compassion, and persistence; as I wrote upon finishing it, “I now…

  • Natalie

    Natalie Reveals Her Ceramics Project

    After being glazed, my pieces were ready for their second and final round in the kiln. The kiln is so deep that to place the medallions at the bottom, I had to fold over the edge with my head and shoulders in the depths. The next day, the firing was complete. Once the temperature in the kiln had dropped to 170°F (the top temperature reached is 2000°F), Patty and I ventured out into the kiln room. She assured me that I would return to the studio either smiling or crying, depending on how many had survived the firing. I got ready to open the kiln…and peered in….   And saw……

  • Natalie

    Visiting an Old Friend — An 1886 Square Grand Piano

    This is my second extended stay in Cambria. The first was in seventh grade, when my mom and I lived here for a month to pursue “nature studies,” the science portion of our homeschool curriculum. While we were here, we became acquainted with the leaders of the Cambria Historical Museum, a 19th century home just off of Main Street that chronicles the town’s history through a gallery exhibit and a few restored rooms. I practiced the piano here every weekend for that month on an 1886 square grand. My mom has always told me not to practice, but to “visit the piano” so that we could become friends. Well, I…

  • Natalie

    No Day is the Same in the Ceramics Studio

    I have been working now for two weeks in the wonderful ceramics studio of Patricia Griffin — www.PatriciaGriffinCeramics.com. To read about what I’ve been learning and doing, read my earlier posts by clicking on the links below. I’ll be revealing my final project in an upcoming post 🙂 “Learning About Clay” http://twointhemiddle.com/2015/05/19/learning-about-clay/ “Ceramics in an Old Schoolhouse” http://twointhemiddle.com/2015/05/21/ceramic-art-in-an-old-schoolhouse/ “Creativity, Intuition and Patience” http://twointhemiddle.com/2015/05/27/creativity-intuition-and-patience/ “Ceramics Is Not All Fun and Clay” http://twointhemiddle.com/2015/05/28/ceramics-is-not-all-fun-and-clay/ Curious about how Patty discovered ceramics and became a potter, I decided to interview her… Was art part of your life prior to becoming a ceramicist? “The kind of work that I’ve done has always been creative. I was…

  • Natalie

    Ceramics Is Not All Fun and Clay

    It’s been lovely to devote the past two weeks to being creative. My project is going swimmingly, and I have also had a most enjoyable time helping Patty with some of her work—I painted earrings and buttons she made with black glaze so that she could etch them, glazed some of her workshop students’ work, and made clay slabs. Ceramics, however, is not all fun and play. After my medallions emerged from their first round in the kiln, Patty introduced me to glazing. Glaze looks like watery plaster, and is applied to a piece before it is replaced in the kiln, where the glaze turns into a transparent glassy layer.…

  • Natalie

    Creativity, Intuition and Patience

      Ten days into my project, I am starting to answer my essential question: What skills must a ceramic artist master distinct from those of a 2D artist, and how can some of these skills be applied to other facets of one’s life? The most crucial skills I have observed so far are creativity, intuition, and patience. These are not necessarily unique to ceramics; in fact, they are probably just as applicable to 2D art. My exposure to a new medium has simply brought my attention to them. Creativity does not take only the form obviously necessary for any sort of artistic endeavor; I have noticed that in Patty’s studio,…

  • Natalie

    Ceramic Art in an Old Schoolhouse

    Patty’s studio is in a 19th century one-room schoolhouse located on Cambria’s Main Street. The cream colored clapboard, red trim, and bell tower (the original 1880’s bell still resides up there) might as well be right out of a Little House on the Prairie novel, and arriving each morning is like going on jaunt back in time. Today was my third day of decorating forms, and with 40 pieces completed, I am getting very used to having clay-covered hands. About decorating: Patty specializes in etched ceramics. Remember those Scratch-Art sets from elementary school, how you would scrape off the rubbery layer on a piece of board to reveal the colors…

  • Natalie

    Learning About Clay

    For the next three weeks, I will be studying ceramics under the guidance of Cambria based artist Patty Griffin. My essential question: What skills must a ceramic artist master distinct from those of a 2D artist, and how can some of these skills be applied to other facets of one’s life? I have wanted to try ceramics for as long as I can remember, and I walked into Patty’s studio yesterday morning with enthusiasm enough, I hoped, to make up for my lack of experience. The process, I soon learned, begins with a pug. Not a dog—although Patty does have a very majestic poodle named May—but with a cylindrical piece…