As Jack White sculpts a pot, with Mr. Raymond Ochs encouraging him, Jack makes a perfect pot. With vibrant designs on the body of the pot, Jack holds it, with both hands, in the air. Turning the object 180 degrees he puts down his piece, with the look of satisfaction. Jesuit does not only mold young men, but it has young men who actually mold.
Jack White ’13 is in a league of his own, literally. Not only is he the only student in Ceramics 4, but also submitted a piece that was selected to be in a gallery in Houston. Out of 1100 entries, Jack’s was selected.
After learning about this unique opportunity, Mr. Ochs told Jack and Reid Vandeven ’13, and both ended up submitting multiple entries to the competition.
Jack, whose piece got selected, submitted a total of five objects. The five pieces he sent included a teapot, a tall lidded object that had side features on the outside, a big bowl, and another lidded object. The last one he submitted, a simple jar with a lid, was selected by the contestant judges.
“It was kind of funny because of the pieces I submitted, the one that ended up getting selected I really didn’t think would have gotten selected. I actually gave it to my grandmother for Christmas and I recently asked her to mail it back to me so that I could send it to the competition,” stated Jack. Later, remembering the theme, White also added that “it probably got selected because it paralleled with the theme of the contest which was Earth tones. Some of the other pieces I thought were better didn’t really fit into that profile.”
A panel of judges critiqued all of the pieces that were entered. “When looking through the pieces, [each contestant] had about six pictures per piece so you wanted something that would catch their eyes because they would be scrolling through them quickly”, commented Jack.
Jack fully intends to keep ceramics as a hobby, but does not intend to pursue a career in ceramics. He may minor in ceramics or fine arts because he likes it so much. “I want to become a doctor, and with that you need the sense of touch which you get from ceramics … [this] could help when being a surgeon, another career I am considering. ”
To really wrap your hands around ceramics, you must stick with it. “I see so many kids who get into Ceramics 1 and get frustrated with it. They want to make a one foot [long] piece, but as a beginner you have to do simple skills that you don’t want to do. And you have to practice stuff that doesn’t give you immediate results”, stated Jack. “They need to be patient in the beginning.”
If you are interested in joining ceramics, sign up for the class on your schedule for next year, or contact Mr. Ochs at rochs@jesuitcp.org.
