My name is William McDonald and I am chair of the Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media. And I have something very important to tell you: My refrigerator broke down last week. Let me repeat that: My refrigerator – in this heat – broke down – last week. Last Thursday had been a long, hot day, made longer and hotter by a commute home that ordinarily takes 40 minutes, but took two hours. Then, around 9:30 that evening, my lovely wife Pamela and I noticed food and drink we were taking out of the fridge were not very cold. Fearful of what this might mean, I was willing to…
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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.…
