Physical Art Classes in a Socially Distanced World
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, students everywhere have transitioned to almost entirely online learning. The few classes that do meet in person are hybrid classes and mostly related to the arts. Tom Clarkson, professor of art, teaches ceramics as a hybrid class on campus and shared some thoughts about how his practices and experiences have changed since the beginning of the pandemic.
Clarkson began with an in-person tour of the pottery studio. He demonstrated the high firing temperature used to solidify clay and glaze in the kiln, even removing a block to show me the red hot ceramics inside. The heat of the kiln room subsided as he walked through the finished works room. Clarkson explained that his class goes through fewer materials, and uses their massive kilns less often with reduced class time and space. After the tour, Clarkson set up outside on the studio patio to take questions. The doors were open to let in the fresh air blowing across the pond, with the view visible from the studio.
Clarkson said for ceramics, a hands-on approach is necessary. On the potential benefits, Clarkson said, “It’s like an extension of what we do.”
Explaining that he tried to make his online school work an extension of what his students can do in class. He went on to say, “every culture has a ceramic culture, and everybody in ceramics has their own vision.”
Clarkson encourages his students to research and take interest in ceramics that may be outside of class possibilities. Although they may not have the time or the resources to try everything, students can still explore ceramics outside the studio.
Ceramics courses have experienced a vast drop in participation, with a regular semester totaling around 100 enrolled students, and the current semester having only 28. “I think a lot of people are still worried about coming to campus,” Clarkson said, “But it’s still a class, and we’re still learning and doing our best.”
With only certain areas of the studio open for use, the class sizes are much smaller, but the class still makes their own glazes and has certain pottery wheels designated for students to work on.
Clarkson says he still has students who come back to “the best-kept secret at PVCC,” with some taking his classes for years and continuing through the pandemic. Thanks to a scenic and virus-friendly location, the class is as normal as possible.
