I attended the year-end show and sale by first-year students at the Kootenay School of the Arts earlier this month. I first three students I met all had something on common: surprise and pride at what they had accomplished.

Julia Cedar (Clay)

Julia, how do you feel looking at your pieces in this exhibit  now?

I feel good. Maybe 48 hours before I was overwhelmed by self-doubt, I thought there was no definite style in what I had made, and I was trying to not beat myself up too much because it is only my first year and it is OK if I have not found my style. Then I went from that to, well maybe I can put three of them together and it looks at least like a cluster of things. And now those things don’t even matter because they are displayed on the shelf with all the other students’ work and  it looks like a good fit. I am happy about them. I don’t want to sell any of them quite yet, but I will give them away as gifts.

I like crafting and doing things with my hands but I didn’t think I had…  I was not born with a potter’s skill. But you can just develop it if you want, so if you want to go someplace with your craft or art, you should give it a try and you would be surprised, because I am amazed that I can make tall bowls now.

What’s the main thing you learned this year?

Letting go of expectation. We started right away on the kicking wheel which was hard and I had only taken evening classes before with an electric wheel that felt really simple and all of a sudden we had to use our whole body to move and throw pieces, and I got a lot of frustration out of it, and it was easy to blame it on the wheel and then blame it on myself. I realized when we moved from the kicking wheel to the electric I still had a struggle. So letting go of trying to make the perfect piece. And when we were to show it and have a critique with all the students, not having any fear attached to that. If people accept it good but if they don’t I didn’t make it for them.

So the learning was more internal than technical?

I felt it was, and the technical I will always be learning and experimenting as I fire them and throw them and see all the possibilities.

What do you like most about these pieces?

I like the fact that they have some friendliness to them. That is a general thing about pottery. It is mostly round and you know it is functional most of the time, and I like the fact that those are pieces I feel comfortable to have in my home and use every day but they are beautiful enough that they an also make a nice gift.

Kendall Willson (Fibre)

Kendall, you told me your weaving was the work you are  most proud of from the past year. Why?

Because they were probably the most interesting and complex. We did a lot of felting, but I resonated more with the weaving I think. I am a knitter by trade, that is the main fibre art that I had before I came to KSA. And just the fact that I made cloth by hand, that was a revelation to me, it was really cool, to create it.

What was biggest learning for you?

Setting up the loom is the biggest learning curve. The weaving aspect of it is easy and simple but setting it up and figuring out how much thread you need and what structure, and getting it ready, is a lot of work. You have to calculate how much material, then wind your warp which is the basic structure of the cloth, that took me about an hour to wind it, and then you have to beam it, getting it on the loom and then you have to thread it. It takes a while when you are beginner.

What does it mean to you now to see this hanging here?

It speaks to me of a lot of progress. One of the main reasons I enjoy fibre so much is to me it speaks to the direct connection to the past, spinning and weaving and knitting. Before we had industrial machinery we all did it by hand, that is one of the things I love about fibre. So seeing it with everybody else’s work is a big accomplishment and it feels good.

The scarves were all done on the same warp and everyone in the class made their own scarf so it speaks to me of community.

Donovan Hough (Metal)

Donovan, why are you proud of these pieces?

The dragon, just that I finished it, it took a ton of splitting and hours of swinging a sledgehammer and I am just really proud that I accomplished it. I had never blacksmithed before.  To come and start learning how to swing a hammer and  hit metal and to make that is really a nice feeling. And with this knife after a good solid week of just sanding and file work, once I was able to see my face in it , it was such a good feeling, I can’t describe that.

What’s the most important thing you learned?

Lots of things came into it like learning the basics and getting good at it, and putting the time into it really. I have put lots of time into things like work and skiing, but this year I have worked harder than ever before, especially on art– this program  is no much fun and I just wanted to be here every day learning.

I have been making money through the course too, something didn’t think would happen. I’ve sold this little handle thing that a camera can attach to, like a boom arm to get better angles for skiing. I have sold earring holders and belt buckles going to Shambhala, that is really a cool feeling.

What does it mean to you to see this here?

It’s the beginning of an art career, I didn’t think it would happen so fast, like I am 19 years old and I have made  money off my art in the past year. I sell paintings too, once in a while when I get the chance to paint.

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Don’t forget to check out the exhibition by graduates of KSA at Touchstones until May 29