Lenny Dowhie, professor of art, said that the ceramics program outgrew the current space years ago. “The old building was built around 1981 for 15 or 16 students,” he said. “Now we regularly have more than 50 students in ceramics classes.”
The new Ceramic Center will be about 300 square feet larger, with room for 20 pottery wheels. The current building has 12. In addition to the glazing room and a clay mixing room, the new facility will include men’s and women’s restrooms.
“It’s a great development,” Dowhie said. “It will enable the students to do things they can’t do now and it will give them a bit more space to accommodate them, more shelving space, and prepare them to do the things they need to know how to do, like kiln-building.”
Dowhie instructs the students in kiln-building every five years, and the current kilns are ready to be replaced. He will offer the course, Kiln Design and Construction, within the next academic year.
Empire Contractors, Inc. is the general contractor for the Ceramics Center. It was designed by Sarah Schuler of VPS, Inc. Schuler also designed the Kenneth P. McCutchan Art Center/ Palmina F. and Stephen S. Pace Art Galleries, which opens in September.
Mike Jones, staff engineer, said the Ceramics Center is expected to be complete in December.
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