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MANUAL
get some culture // SUNFIRE CERAMICS
it's not all about fast food and beer pong.
Whether you're a natural artist or creatively challenged, painting can offer a therapeutic break from the stress of life as a student. It's just you and the blank canvas, and the rest of the world melts away. But why not make that canvas something quirky and useful, such as a coffee mug or a picture frame?
Sunfire Ceramics, 1002 New Hampshire St., gives you the opportunity to paint your own pottery, all of which is microwave and dishwasher safe. You pick your piece and the glaze, paint it and then leave it at the store to be fired in the store's kiln. In three to five days your item will be complete — fired, shiny and vibrant.
Sunfire charges a base fee of $4 for the glaze and firing and an additional cost for the pottery. Cheryl Roth, owner of Sunfire Ceramics, says you can complete a piece for as little as $12, making it a cheap way to relieve a little stress and show your creativity.
"Painting itself is really relaxing," Roth says. "But seeing how they turned out is the best part — they really change when they're fired."
But those with no artistic ability shouldn't be afraid. Sunfire has plenty of stencils and stamps to help you create your very own masterpiece.
And there's always the option of solid colors if you're really challenged.
Sunfire's quaint studio is decorated with customer works, examples and blank pieces ready to be painted. On sunny days employees open the studio's garage door at the front to let the rays in.
With midterms approaching and the weather getting a little cooler, letting the artistic juices flow just may be the perfect escape from hitting the books.
// ANDREA OLSEN
Photo by Andrea Olsen
All fired up. Sunfire Ceramics offers paint-your-own pottery for creative relaxation.
in the life of ... // A KU FIT INSTRUCTOR living vicariously through others is ok with us.
Every time you walk into her class you are greeted with the biggest, whitest smile you've ever seen. And while that smile is sincere, it doesn't show what's coming for you: an hour-long workout that will leave you begging for mercy.
Stephanie Thompson, Lenexa senior, is one of 25 KU Fit instructors paid to teach weekly classes at the Ambler Student Recreation Fitness Center. She's had the job for a year and a half and has developed a bit of a cult following. Her classes include Cardio Cross Train, Butz and Gutz and the Boot Camp Challenge, her favorite because she likes tracking the progress of her students through the semester.
Thompson has had a few people come up to her outside of class and complain that she worked them a little too hard, but she just laughs it off. She would never do anything to intentionally hurt anyone; it's just all about fitness.
But being in great shape is just one of the job requirements. You also need the motivation. Instructors try out in the spring for yearly positions. The process includes
Photo by Andrea Olsen
Looks can be deceiving: KU Fit instructor Stephanie Thompson's bright, warm smile hides her fierceness as an instructor, which has gained her a cult following.
weekly meetings, a performance exam, a written exam, shadowing a current instructor and finally an audition where you teach your own class.
But most importantly you need the personality, and anyone who's taken Thompson's classes knows she's got it. She's always cracking jokes and interacting with her students during class, no matter how hard it gets. And if she sees you on campus she'll almost always say "hi," just don't whine about being sore.
// ANDREA OLSEN
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