Cool Course: Ceramics for Nonmajors

The NYU Steinhardt studio art class is popular with science majors who crave an artistic outlet to balance their studies.

Senior biology major Mary Ou convinced her friend and fellow STEM student Kim Nguyen to take Ceramics I for Nonmajors as an elective for their final semester.

“It’s stress relief,” said Mary during a recent class session. She was sitting on a stool in a third-floor ceramics studio with a few of her pieces, including a white vase with a pink bow, assembled on the table before her. “Everyone is welcoming, and you’re not worried about making something good.”

Kim, who studies neural science at the NYU College of Arts & Science, didn’t need persuading.

“I wanted to do something with my hands, it’s so freeing,” she said, describing the appeal of the art course. “There’s no right answer, and you’re not putting stuff in your brain for an exam. It’s more like, ‘How far can I go with this?’”

Mary and Kim are among the 15 students enrolled in the studio art course offered by the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Taught by Fan Qi, an artist and adjunct who is completing an MFA at Steinhardt, the course covers basic hand-building techniques and rudimentary glazing skills before moving on to the potter’s wheel.

This group is composed of seniors (the small class size means it fills up fast), with the majority pursuing science degrees.

“It’s fun, especially for a Friday afternoon,” said computer science major Zach Lyon as he smacked a hunk of gray clay against the worktable.

The students’ artistic skills are wide-ranging, with this group including both total beginners and those who have dabbled in ceramics or other artistic media. Qi’s goal is to create a fun environment where these high-achievers can work their creative muscles.

“I want it to be challenging, but I want them to have a great time as they finish their college lives,” she says.

Qi began the class NYU News visited by checking in with her students, who were working quietly in the sunny studio. Dressed in denim coveralls that evoked an auto mechanic from an old sitcom, Qi examined their pieces, asking questions and offering encouragement. She finished her tour of the studio by observing the five students working at a row of potter’s wheels.

Then Qi introduced the course’s fourth and final project, which requires the budding artists to create a piece or series of pieces that reflect their personal interests or experiences. The project builds on the techniques they have learned, she explained, and its parameters are flexible, but it must reflect their passions, and their effort.

“Make what you want, but try to merge your personal interests with ceramics,” she told the class. They were to begin brainstorming ideas immediately, planning ahead with the kiln schedule in mind.

The semester began with a hand-building project that allowed students to practice pinching, coiling, and slab building. They had to make two distinct pieces, emphasizing form, balance, and spatial presence. The results were bowls, cups, a turtle shaped plate, and a green juicer.

Next they worked on glazes and slips, a clay slurry that is used for decoration or as glue to hold pieces together. After the midterm, the class turned to the potter’s wheel, where they learned core skills of centering, pulling, and trimming.

Students are expected to spend a minimum of three to five hours a week working in the studio outside of class in order to complete the projects. When they present their completed pieces to the group, they must articulate their intentions and techniques. 

After listening to Qi explain the last project, the students returned to their own tasks. Kim was working on a small, otter-shaped bowl she’s making for a friend, while a classmate was glazing pieces that she had already decorated.