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KANSAN.COM
ARTS & CULTURE
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Lawrence Arts Center to hold its first Pottery Jam
▶ SAMANTHA SEXTON
@Sambiscuit
Aaron Goldstein/KANSAN Kyla Strid, the center's director of residencies. Strid says the Pottery Jam will consist of attendees and a few well known ceramists.
The Lawrence Art Center will be hosting its first Pottery Jam on Oct.18 to celebrate the ever-changing dynamics and fluidity of ceramics, according to Kyla Strid, the center's director of residencies.
Strid said that she was inspired by Mark Shapiro, a well-known ceramist from Massachusetts, when he mentioned attending a similar event in his home state. Shapiro will be part of the Pottery Jam later this month, along with Erica Iman, founding member of KC Urban Potters, and studio potter Peter Pinnell.
"I said that we had to do one here and I think he didn't think I was serious," Strid said. "But I thought it was a fantastic idea and
could be a lot of fun."
"This is very new for us and I am so excited to see
Strid, a ceramist herself said the event would be the first interactive, audience-inclusive event at the center that focused on the art of ceramics.
what happens," Strid said. "Art demonstrations aren't typically so dynamic or inclusive and this will be a unique opportunity for the audience to get involved and learn about the process firsthand."
The pottery jam, thanks
to financial support from the University and Bracker's Good Earth Clay, will be free to the public and will include a bar and popcorn for the audience. Shapiro will even be on loan from the University as the jam falls within his time at
the University as a visiting artist.
"Working with Mike will be amazing," Strid said. "I'm looking forward to working with all the artists and feeding off of their work to make something incredible."
Strid and Shapiro will be joined by fellow ceramists, Iman and Pinnell. The four will be based in the lobby where they will trade stories and pass clay among themselves, adding and molding the artwork in a spontaneous collaboration of four unique styles.
"You never know what's going to happen," Shapiro said. "That's the wonderful thing about these sorts of demonstrations."
Shapiro said that the jam will be different from what the center normally hosts, in that it will "breathe life
into the stodginess of typical art demonstrations."
After the four artists have had their turn to mold the clay, audience members will be invited to the potters' wheels to make their own mark on the art. With an open bar in what he expects to be a relaxed setting, Shapiro said he can't predict the outcome.
"I've been to about ten of these kinds of demonstrations before," Shapiro said. "Each is as unpredictable and dynamic as the last."
The Lawrence Art Center's first Pottery Jam will be held in the lobby from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Oct. 18. The event is free to the public and all are welcome. For more information, visit the center's website at lawrenceartscenter.org.
"Deepwater Horizon" tells true story with heart
GUS HUNNINGHAKE
@gushunninghake
When done right, disaster films based on true events have a unique emotional resonance which usually comes from the characters involved. Often times, the way these people persevere through catastrophe is not appreciated or recognized by the general public. In "Deepwater Horizon," director Peter Berg and a strong ensemble cast attempt to right this wrong by reimagining one of the worst oil spills in history.
In 2010, an explosion on an oil rig off the Gulf of Mexico released thousands of gallons of petroleum into the surrounding water. "Deepwater Horizon," named after the larger-than-life rig, details the efforts of Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg), "Mr. Jimmy" Harrell (Kurt Russell) and various other crew members to stop the petroleum leak and evacuate everyone to safety on a nearby freighter.
The cast does a fine job of portraying the real life men and women affected by this tragedy. Wahlberg and Russell both turn in well-realized performances as veteran Transocean employees who know an oil rig like the backs of their
hands. In his own way, Wahlberg perfectly portrays Williams as a normal family man trying to live his life the best he can. As a whole, the crew's heroics never feel heavy-handed or contrived, which is a common mistake true story films make when there isn't enough interesting content. Props to the writers and cast for being able to, for the most part, keep the film grounded in what actually happened.
in the end, "Deepwater Horizon" does exactly what it needs to. It tells a story of the perseverance of everyday men and women through a terrible disaster that is handled with emotional complexity and weight."
Also worth noting are Gina Rodriguez and Dylan O'Brien's performances as crew members Andrea Fleytas and Caleb Holloway, respectively. Though they don't have as much
time to develop as characters, their importance does not go overlooked. Rodriguez and O'Brien do a great job of keeping the people that they portray grounded.
Instead of jumping right into the action, Berg uses the film's first act to develop his characters, making them feel like any other person. This makes their fate even more impactful. Berg also does a fine job of amping up the tension before the actual explosion happens by cutting to shots of the pipe as the pressure inside it grows. Once the explosion happens, the action overwhelms the screen and does not let up until the credits roll. Just like he did in "Lone Survivor," Berg successfully directs his characters through huge set pieces with grace, which allows the film to flow seamlessly from start to finish.
In the end, "Deepwater Horizon" does exactly what it needs to. It tells a story of the perseverance of everyday men and women through a terrible disaster that is handled with emotional complexity and
weight. The politics and finger pointing are subtle enough to keep heavy handedness to a minimum. There is enough action to grip those not too interested in human moments. And, most importantly, it
As far as negatives go, the film does follow the run-of-the-mill formula that most true story movies do. It doesn't break any new ground from a storytelling standpoint, but this isn't a big deal. These types of movies do not need to follow a groundbreaking formula; they need to tell a story that has an emotional impact on its viewers. And on that level, the film delivers.
is a worthy and emotional tribute to the people who lost their lives from this disaster on April 10, 2010.
—Edited by Cody Schmitz
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