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Volume CXXXIII, Number 15 |
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Hafler's plans for ceramics department take shape
MAIA LEE
ORIENT STAFF
Tonight at 6:30 p.m., sophomore Jason Hafler will make
history. He will open the first ceramics show ever exhibited at Bowdoin,
accompanied by wine, hor d'oeuvres and a host of fans.
Disapointed that ceramics are not offered as a credit level
course in the Visual Arts department, Hafler decided to complete an independent
study in ceramics last semester. His show, which opens tonight in the
basement of the VAC, will consist of approximately fifteen of his favorite
pieces, all of which were made on the wheel.
Though his independent study involved many hours of hard
work, Hafler was no newcomer to ceramics when he came to Bowdoin two years
ago. Ever since the eighth grade, he has been designing, exhibiting, and
selling his own ceramic pieces. In addition to owning his own wheel back
at home, he has a full kiln for firing finished work in his basement.
His first ceramics exhibition took place several years ago
at his high school, Buckingham Brown and Nichols, in Cambridge, MA. As
a result of this and other shows, he began to sell some of his ceramics
at an early age. Recently he was commissioned to make an entire set of
dinner ware for a friend's wedding. This should not be too difficult for
Hafler, considering he has previously made a full set for his parents
and other relatives.
Here at Bowdoin, his show will focus mainly on platters
and cover jars of various sizes and styles. Many of his pieces were inspired
by Warren MacKenzie, whose work with ceramics is documented in several
books on the subject.
It was another great potter, however, who gave Hafler some
extra help during his independent study. Tyler Gulden, who runs a nonprofit
ceramics facility here in Maine got in contact with him through the help
of art professor Mark Wethli. His ceramics program is called Watershed
and has proved to be a wonderful resource, especially in the absense of
an official ceramics program on the Bowdoin campus.
However, Hafler hopes to change this soon. After discovering
that most other small liberal arts schools do in fact offer ceramics for
credit, he decided to take on the administration and write a petition
asking for the creation of a ceramics program. 400 students signed the
petition, and it is currently being looked over by Dean McEwen and Wethli.
What Hafler hopes to achieve will be a program similar to
that at Bates. "Under the leadership of Paul Heroux, another well
known potter, Bates offers a fantastic program in ceramics," said
Hafler. "My goal is to get a larger building here on campus and a
teacher dedicated specifically to ceramics. Then we could take courses
for credit as part of the art department."
Though Bowdoin still does not offer classes in ceramics for credit, the craft center offers a weekly class taught by Nancy Foushee. After taking a safety course, the craft center is available to all students during the academic year and provides wheels, clay, and other materials, including a photo lab.
However, before graduating, Hafler hopes to move ceramics
from the extracurricular into the course catalog, making it easier for
interested student to dedicate more time to it.
As for Hafler, who is currently dividing his time between
the visual arts major and pre med, any extra time would be well appreciated.
He already feels as if he doesn't have enough time to dedicate to ceramics
as he would like.
In the future, Hafler says he's not planning to pursue ceramics professionally (he wants to be a doctor), but he's certain he will continue this type of work as a hobby. Be sure to stop by and see his creations tonight at 6:30 p.m. in the VAC.