“There’s this material called clay that is not intimidating, it’s just dirt,” say ceramics major Abigail Wolfzorn.
I first met Abigail during our freshman year on the lawn of the Heritage Complex. Her bright blue eyes and light blonde hair are features no one could forget. Now here she is, six tattoos and seven piercings later, almost done with Sophomore year, and has finally found her calling.
“I chose to become a ceramics major ultimately because I felt like it was the best way I could say what I needed to say through my art.”
Abigail first came to college with the intentions to become an art therapist. But then a Hand Building class shifted some things. Although her major has since changed to ceramics, her love and compassion for people has not altered.
“I want to express freedom and the nature of something being organic, so it’s more of an abstract idea. Overall, I want my work to arouse freedom and independence in people. I want people to feel like there’s hope.”
Abigail didn’t always have a love for ceramics. As a kid in Western Asia, she was constantly surrounded by decorative art, inlays, woodcarvings, and architecture. But it all changed when her family took a trip to Cappadocia, the pottery capitol of Turkey. They had been witnessing to a potter that lived in a cave-structured home and would visit him once or twice a year. It was in this city that she first sat down at a throwing wheel at the age of 8.
“Cappadocia is part of my logo and it’s also overall, a symbol of where my journey began, where I threw my first pot, and the formations are seen over and over again in my work. It has had a really big influence on everything.”
The ceramics journey hasn’t particularly been an easy one for Abigail. She suffers from chronic pain due to a relentless shoulder injury, and the physical intensity of ceramics has taken a toll on her.
“The hardest part has been physical. It is a lot of work to make your own clay, have enough strength to carry things, and put all of your weight into throwing. You really have to be fit to be a potter, which I didn’t realize. It is recommended to sit at the wheel for four hours at a time to learn how to do it.”
Aside from the labor-intensive aspect, the art courses can also have an emotional toll on artists. Abigail is in her first throwing class, and the transition from Hand Building to throwing can be challenging.
“The transition was really difficult to make because in Hand Building we had so much freedom of concept and form. We had to make five masks or make an altar, so there was a lot of freedom of choice. But, in Throwing 1 it’s all technique based. We have to throw ten perfect 8-inch cylinders, or ten perfect half-sphere bowls. So, it revolves around technique, but once you get to Throwing 2 and 3, you get some freedom. But, it’s necessary your first year to make sure you can do it correctly.”
Despite the hardships, Abigail still feels like she is doing what she was created to do.
“I’m struck by the power of the material and how it can communicate what I want it to. It just feels like this is what I was meant to do, and if I didn’t do it then I would be making the wrong decision.”
