One of Bowdoin's best resources is also one of its least known. Students may know where it is?that little white building next to Admissions?but few have ever been or even know what is available to them there.
This is the Bowdoin College Craft Center.
Home to a pottery studio, a photography studio, and five sewing machines, the Craft Center is accessible to all Bowdoin students who pay a membership fee of $20 a semester. Included in that fee are unlimited materials, equipment, and 24-hour access to the building. All you need to supply is the creativity.
"It's a great resource on campus that's not really known about or utilized by students," said Dan McGrath '06.
McGrath is a geology and environmental studies major who has been involved in ceramics since the ninth grade. He has taught classes at the Craft Center for three years.
Maya Jaafar '07 also teaches pottery classes at the center. "It was a good challenge," she said, noting that putting herself back into a beginner's shoes was difficult, as she has been doing pottery since age 11.
Both McGrath and Jaafar taught introductory courses in wheel-throwing. The Craft Center also offers classes and workshops in a variety of media, such as photography, sewing, knitting, jewelry making, and tie-dying.
While Bowdoin does not offer any ceramics classes in its visual arts department, the Craft Center provides an opportunity for students interested in pottery to have a chance to take classes and work on pieces.
Jaafar, a visual arts and environmental studies major, did an independent study at the Craft Center in the spring of her first year. She worked three hours a week under Tyler Gulden, a well-known potter, and spent 10-15 hours a week on her own producing and perfecting bowls and mugs.
As he is not an art major, McGrath appreciates the extracurricular aspect of the Craft Center. "It's a great facility for people who aren't interested in the academic aspect of art," she said.
The Craft Center is open to experts and beginners alike. Whatever the artistic endeavor, it can be pursued. "It has definitely been an important part of my Bowdoin experience," says Jaafar. "It's a really good stress reliever."