the beginning

All theses start somewhere. Mine is starting with an amorphous idea...

Throughout high school, college and after I graduated from college I worked at paint-your-own pottery studios. I worked at 4 different studios, but they all were basically the same: people walked in, picked out a piece of pre-formed, slip-cast bisque, painted it with underglazes, we glazed it with a clear glaze, fired it, and they came to pick up their food-safe, somewhat dishwasher safe creation. I loved it. It was basically a retail position with art mixed in, but there was another element that was very appealing to me.

One thing I experienced numerous times at all of these places was a customer who would transform over the course of their visit. Typically it would be a 30-40 year old woman who would come in with a group of friends. Upon entrance to the store, she would confide in me and shamefully say "I can't draw" or "I'm not creative" or "I suck at art" or "Mine will look like a 5-year-old made it." They'd putter around the store, taking forever to pick out a piece, and I'd talk to them about potential ways they could paint their piece. I'd show them idea books, stamps, stencils, and sample pieces throughout the store. They'd nervously come to a decision about their piece and their design direction. I'd give them their glazes, go over instructions, and then watch the transformation begin.

The timid woman would sketch with a pencil on her piece, and dip her paint brush in the glaze. Everything would be slow, painstakingly approached and restrained. About 30 minutes into painting, there would be a change. The woman would be helping herself to more paint; offering advice or feedback to her friends; or even sitting there, experiencing flow. After finishing her piece, the woman would proudly show it to me, her friends, and others in the studio. Her sheepish expression that she had when she entered the studio would be replaced by a big grin, or a calm sense of accomplishment and fulfillment.

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For my thesis, I'd like to explore the power of creativity and doing, and the transformation one goes through by embracing the creative process. I plan on investigating the reframing of one's identity from someone who "can't draw" or "sucks at art" to an individual who can create beautiful things, and what that enables the individual to accomplish in all dimensions of their life.