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Tag: Lauren Clay

Glazing-A-Trail with Lauren Clay

The spring session hasn’t yet begun, but LEAP students are learning–thanks to the dedication of Professor Lauren Clay.

Following a December session of bowl-making–all in preparation of Empty Bowls–LEAP students gathered again to “Glaze a Bowl.”

Under the tutelage of Professor Clay, our advanced students did excellent work and our slow students (Yawn) made acceptable work.

Over the course of a couple of hours, we learned how to anticipate the “look” of a color on a ceramic bowl, the number of layers to add, and where to paint and where not to paint.

In addition to learning how art works, we also enjoyed the benefits of building social capital. While many of us are SHSU students, we also had professor, and we also had friends–Roxana Alvarado Martinez and her daughter, Gabriella, we met during our citizenship preparatory course, and we have stayed in touch! It is bridging social capital at its best.

Following the glazing, the bowls will go into a kiln (again) and they will be available to their creators on March 4, when the “Empty Bowls Fundraiser” takes place at the Wynne Home Arts and Visitors Center. Between 11am-2pm, the Wynne Home will be offering lunch and a hand-made bowl, available to all comers for a suggested $15.00 donation. Additional bows of the highest quality (not Yawn’s) will be available through silent auction. And what’s best, all of the funds will go to the Senior Center’s “Meals on Wheels.”

We hope everyone will join us in the fun and promote a good cause this March 4!

Unknown's avatarAuthor mikeyawnPosted on January 16, 2026January 15, 2026Format AsideCategories Art, Civic Engagement, EducationTags Center for Law Engagement And Politics, Ceramics, Empty Bowls, Lauren Clay, LEAP Ambassadors, Sam Houston State University, Wynne Home Visitor & Arts Center1 Comment on Glazing-A-Trail with Lauren Clay

Crafting for a Cause

Brianne Barclay

The SHSU academic fall semester may be complete, but LEAP students are continuing to learn, in and out of classrooms. Accordingly, a group of LEAP students participated in a ceramics class this Monday, March 15, led by Professor Lauren Clay at the Dana G. Hoyt Fine Arts Building as an early participation in the Empty Bowls Fundraiser, which will occur March 4, 2026.

Our participation is the first phase of a three-phase fundraiser. As described by Professor Clay, our purpose Monday was to (1) shape our bowl, learning how to mold wet clay, explore the many options for designs and ornamentation, and to prepare for the kiln.

We will return in January to (2) glaze the bowl, and in March, some of us (3) will volunteer for the Empty Bowls fundraiser at the Wynne Home Arts and Visitor Center–a project we have assisted with since the program’s inception in 2008.

For our initial session, Professor Clay…

…demonstrated “underglaze transferring,” which involves creating a design on one medium and transferring it to the ceramic before shaping and kilning.

Thus, we created our design and waited for the design to dry…

…smoothed our clay, completed the transfer, and then put the clay over a mold to complete the bowl.

Not all of us did the transfer process; Professor Yawn, for example, had much trouble with his transfer, and proceeded without ornamentation.

Others, however, engaged fully in their creativity, exploring floral designs, innovative clay designs, or using laces or others props.

With the right imagination and dexterity, the possibilities are endless, and some of us were thrilled with our designs. I, on the other hand, didn’t feel like I quite got the hang of it, but was nonetheless satisfied with it as a first effort.

This participation also gave me the chance to see the beautiful Hoyt Fine Arts Building, making me wish I had explored this building earlier in my college career. And while the building was a little on the cool side, the experience itself left a warm feeling in all of us, a fitting outcome for participation in a worthy cause.

Unknown's avatarAuthor mikeyawnPosted on December 18, 2025December 16, 2025Format AsideCategories Art, Civic EngagementTags Center for Law Engagement And Politics, Empty Bowls Fundraiser, Lauren Clay, Sam Houston State University, SHSU Art, Wynne Home Arts and Visitor CenterLeave a comment on Crafting for a Cause

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  • Staying out of “Legal Jeopardy” While Having Fun January 28, 2026
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