On Thursday, February 20th, the Environmental Club took a trip to Fairfield, New Jersey, to get crafty and participate in pottery.  Mud & Soul Clayworks, the pottery destination, is an inclusive and educational home for many. All eight club members created beautiful cups and bowls. 

Mud & Soul Clayworks is a fully-supplied studio that offers lessons, memberships, parties, and summer clay camps. The building is furnished with 9 wheels, 2 kilns, and a slab roller. Along with making your own art, you can also purchase some. It’s an ideal place to find something that fits your personal style. All of this came together through the owner, Monica Litvany. Sam Dimler, a club member, stated, “She [Litvany] was really cool. She had a good attitude and did a great job telling us how to do things.” 

The first step Monica helped with was setting the clay. The clay must have no air within it or else disaster will occur. Next, the speed on the wheel was set to allow magic to be made. The speed must not be too fast or else the clay will fly off. Therefore, a medium-fast speed was ideal. After that, the clay was to go through many steps to be shaped into a cup. At the end of shaping, the cup was sliced off the kiln and stored away to be heated. 

Following the cup creation, a bowl was next. The students went through the same process as the previous one, just adjusting the width of the clay. This time though, they had to be more delicate with the bottom, to not allow it to be too thin to collapse. After all the pottery mayhem, the attendees were a mess. Washing and scrubbing the clay from their nails was vigorous. One thing they all learned that day was that pottery is messy. 

Overall, the trip was so memorable. The trip allowed the Environmental Club to learn about the use of sustainable materials and encourage mindfulness of handicraft goods with their use. The club hopes to one day return again.