As finals week looms ahead, my approach to studying has been unconventional, to say the least. While many students were beginning to drag their feet on the way to Strozier Library, I took myself to Target for some craft supplies. And no, I am not taking a class on arts and crafts, but I am taking Debates about the Past Civilization: Greek Civilization, History, and Culture. I took this course because it covers two graduation requirements: Scholarship in Practice and Oral Competency. Due to the nature of this course, I knew that it would push me outside of my comfort zone.
Along with two oral debates and a research paper, this course would continue to challenge me. My professor informed us early on that there would be no final exam, but instead a Creative Final Project. I may have given a slight eye roll when I heard that because usually these “creative projects” take more work than simply memorizing material for an exam. However, once the parameters for the project were set, I realized that this was something I could do.
For this project, I had to create anything that uses related concepts from the class lectures. It could be anything from baking an ancient recipe, writing a Greek comedy, or recreating famous artistic works—the possibilities were endless. Since I had such a broad variety of projects to choose from, I had to reflect on what I felt passionate about.
Something I have always been inspired by is Greek art. Usually, when people think of Greek art, they think of grand marble sculptures and pristine relief sculptures carved into walls. However, Greek art extends into far more than that. It specializes in fresco painting, mosaics, weaving, and pottery. When I saw images of some of the vase paintings from Greek culture, I was in total awe. Not simply because of the paintings, but the vast amounts of shapes and sizes of the vases as well.
Therefore, I decided that this was the project for me. I was going to produce a miniature replica of a Greek vase. Although the task seemed daunting at first—I mean, I had no prior experience with molding clay or painting—I knew I could tackle it. So, like many students my age, I took to the one resource I knew would not disappoint me: YouTube.
On YouTube, I was able to find a tutorial for a small Greek pinch pot whose shape greatly resembled that of the Greek bell krater vases. I chose this specific type of vase because it was one that Greek commoners would use to mix their water and wine for the day. I found it fascinating that the Greeks were able to make such beautiful art for such mundane tasks.
So, I began to gather all my materials. All I needed was moldable clay, water, black paint, paint brushes, and gloss varnish for acrylic paint. Once I had all the necessary materials, I decided to dive right in and get my hands dirty. I rolled the clay into one giant-sized sphere, something that took much longer than I’d like to admit because the clay was extremely hard. Once it was in a ball, I worked my thumb down the middle to create a pocket where I could knead out the center of the vase. Once I had the general shape of the vase, I slowly fanned out the top lip of the vase to create the same characteristics as the bell krater. I also attached a thin ring around the bottom of the base to mold it into a disk foot. Finally, I added handles to the sides of the vase as a finishing touch.
While I was able to describe this process in one simple paragraph, this project took approximately three hours to complete. There were many complications along the way, including how messy wet clay is, how long it takes to truly mold the clay into the shape that I wanted, and how difficult it is to maintain that shape whilst attaching other objects. But at the end of the day, I was proud of what I was able to accomplish.
As you can see, these two vases are far from perfect. They are lumpy, asymmetrical, and oddly textured. Additionally, one of the handles ended up breaking off because of how the clay had dried. Yet I would not trade this experience for a typical run-of-the-mill final exam.
This project challenged me artistically and intellectually, as I had to learn about the basic constructions of Greek pottery and then attempt them. But overall, I would highly recommend this course to anyone looking for an unusual course to take in the fall. I encourage you to venture out and try one of your own creative projects, even if it is not for a final grade, but to try something new. Exercising my creative mind has greatly helped me de-stress before the rest of my finals!
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