Whether your artistic abilities are horrible, great, or somewhere in between, ART 103 could be an intriguing option for you! This class is a three-credit art course at Grove City College where students are given the opportunity to work with clay to create artistic pieces.
The class covers the basics of creating art with clay and walks you through the process of making various types of pieces. As you become more and more accustomed to the machinery and processes, bigger, more specific projects will be given to you, allowing you to show both what you have learned while also providing an opportunity to express your artistic side and personalize pieces to be and look like whatever you want within the confines of the assignment. This course is a great option for people who have never worked with clay and also for people who may have years of experience working with this artistic medium because grades are given based on your progress and efforts rather than comparing one student’s piece to another student’s. While this class can be difficult for some, the professor (Kathy Rhoades) is very understanding, motivational, and caring towards her students and willing to help them in any way.
With this brief overview of ART 103, a comparison can be made between this course and a normal elective. This course requires creativity rather than constant learning as in a normal course. This aspect is something that some people may look for as an elective during a busy or more difficult semester but could also be something that may not interest you. Another aspect to take into consideration is the course fee that comes with this and all other ceramics courses at Grove City College. The fee varies slightly each year but can be something that deters some students from this class over another. When considering this fee, though, it is important to also keep in mind that your textbooks for another elective may be more or even equal in price. In conclusion, this course is one that I love as it provided me a time to relax and use my creativeness to create art that I can look at and actually be proud of, which I cannot say I am able to do when drawing or painting, while being in an environment where I am surrounded by others creating themselves, inspiring my works, and that is led by a very encouraging and helpful professor.
