Firing up artists

By Pete Kendall/reporter@trcle.com

JOSHUA November 14, 2008 11:12 am

— If Stephen Sneed’s nickname isn’t The Mad Scientist, it soon will be.
His highly inventive six-weeks project in Janice Hobbs’ ceramics class at Joshua High School features a tall clay box adorned by a creatively crafted clay animal that looks a little out of this world.
Probably because it is.
“It’s half-man, half-snake,” Sneed, a JHS junior, explained.
Whatever it is, it’s taking shape quickly.
“Stephen has just learned to make three different shapes of basic boxes,” said Hobbs, in her 13th year at Joshua. “By the time he makes his third box, which is what this is, he should be kicking it up a step.
“He’s being really creative. He’s getting better and better every month. He’s been with me two or three years. He’s here twice a day. A lot of my kids take two of my classes.”
The next step for Sneed and his creation is “to finish the aesthetics of it,” Hobbs said. “He’ll let it dry completely. When it’s dry, we’ll bisque-fire it, which chemically changes it from a clay form to a rock form. Then we’ll glaze it and fire it.”
It may or may not be the color of the glaze that’s used. Potters never know exactly what’s going to come out of a kiln.
“You never know what color it’s going to be, even with commercial glazes,” Hobbs said. “I think that’s the most fun part of the whole thing, though. There’s that little part that’s always a gamble, and you go for it.”
Potters do learn quickly to prepare the creation for the kiln.
“If you put it in the kiln before it’s dry, it blows up,” Hobbs said.
Hobbs earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in art, with an emphasis on pottery, from the Kansas City Art Institute.
“Ken Ferguson was my [undergraduate] instructor,” Hobbs said. “He was known worldwide. He passed away several years ago. I learned from Warren McKenzie [for her graduate degree]. He’s also very recognized. He’s still active but has lung problems from all the dust he’s breathed over the years. He used to mix clay in a chicken coop. When you do that with a shovel ...”
Hobbs has published five books of lesson plans for ceramics teachers. She has her own studio, Dry Creek Pottery, near Acton.
“I’m into doing one- and two-day teacher workshops at my studio,” she said. “I was at the Texas Art Educators Association convention last weekend and sold some books and did a workshop. I find out what level the teachers are, what they know, and go from there. If they’ve never stacked a kiln, that’s where we start.”
Her passion is helping kids explore the world of art.
“Their minds are like sponges,” she said. “If they stay with me three years, there’s no limit to what they can learn. If they’re interested, I’ll teach them.”
Hobbs’ ceramics students start with the basics ... the truly basic basics.
“They learn how to recycle clay,” she said. “We use leftover clay from the previous year. We take it outside and break it up with a hammer. We bring it inside and soak it down in plastic buckets. As it starts to dry out, the students learn to wedge. Next, we do pinch pots.”
Her classroom equipment is state-of-the-art. It includes electric wheels and three electric kilns.
“We have a recycling corner and a slab corner,” Hobbs said. “Most teachers are not fortunate enough to have a really nice slab roller. I have one.”
Many area homes are decorated with some of Hobbs’ more functional pottery creations, such as pots and plates and coffee cups.
“I don’t think I’ve made any functional pieces in the last two years,” she said. “Last summer, I made cacti. With my huge clay extruder [similar in principle to a cake decorating device], they get 4 1/2 feet tall. I take lots of extrusions and add on to the cactus. I add thousands of pieces that may look like spaghetti or hair.
“I glue on buttons. I air-brush a lot. It may have 30 to 50 coats of air-brushing before I get done. I air-brush and fire it to see what color it’s going to be. Then I air-brush some more.”
Two summers ago, she made intricate mirror frames.
“Out of 300 to 500 pieces [of clay] I glued on,” she said with a chuckle. “That was fun till I got tired of it. If you hand-paint those, it’s very tedious.”

For more information, visit drycreekpottery.com