By Michael Ahearne ’14 & Tanner Nypen ’15
THE ROUNDUP
Mr. Marc Kelly ’87 will teach one of Brophy’s newest classes this year, Advanced Ceramics.
“It’s been a class which I have been developing for four or five years now, trying to somehow make and work it so that it can work in the schedule, and there has been a large demand over the last few years. This year was no different. Everybody seemed to want to get in the class, so it was offered, and it filled up immediately,” Mr. Kelly said.
Mr. Kelly said from day one this class meant business.
“On the first day of class, I told them that we would be doing a lot of work,” he said.
The class will consist of activities different and more complex than a normal ceramics class.
Students will be working on the wheel, pouring clay molds and making more precise, larger pieces of art.
Mr. Kelly is also planning on assigning a few large projects together throughout the year, such as a public mural.
“I am trying to develop a public mural, a public art commission, for the class so the class will design a mural for a public art space,” Mr. Kelly said.
This could even be on campus.
There is a variety of students in the class, from students just taking the class for fun, to those seriously wanting to become better.
“Some guys got into the class because they thought it was kind of an easy blow off class, and some of them are still in it,” Mr. Kelly said. “Other guys I think got in the class because they were very concerned about becoming better artists, better ceramists.”
“I can use two or three guys as examples. Tim Kempton (’13), I think, has become a very good ceramicist. Andrew Curtis (’13) is also a very good ceramicist. They’re both throwing on the wheel. Ben Bush (’13) is a good ceramicist. There are a bunch of guys here who are really good, and they are getting better,” Mr. Kelly said.
Kempton said he likes the tangible elements of the class.
“It’s hands on, you actually get to make things that you can keep for a while and put to use other than just looking at,” Kempton said. “You can make pots, I eat my cereal out of one of my pots that I made last year. You can pretty much make anything you want. Ceramics, I would definitely recommend it.”
