“Ours … After Hours” at the Museum of Arts & Culture

POSTED: DECEMBER 2011

“Ours …. After Hours” is the name of the new show at the Museum of Arts & Culture, but it also reflects the almost possessive feeling the show’s artists have about their work and the Wednesdays evenings spent creating it. “Ours … After Hours” features works created by the 20 students in Joanna Schomber’s Adult Education Ceramics class, offered through New Rochelle High School’s Continuing Education program. Schomber’s weekly class offers instruction for all levels, from beginners – who are introduced to basic hand building techniques and different methods of decorating with glaze – to more advanced students, who learn basic wheel throwing.

The show will run through December 23rd, with an artists’ reception scheduled for Tuesday, December 13th from 7 to 8:30 pm. The Museum of Arts & Culture, located in the new wing of New Rochelle High School, is the only Regents-chartered museum in a school in the state of New York. The MAC is funded by the non-profit New Rochelle Fund for Educational Excellence, a 501 (c)3 corporation, and is open to the public year-round. For more information visit the website at www.dbmac.org.

The Continuing Education Ceramics students who will be featured in “Ours…. After Hours” include Ann Bicker; Sarah Cronin; Jason Eddington; Roni Einhorn; Mary English; Anna Fyodorova; Ruth Bryan Greene; Michael Greenberg; Benita Gross; Kelly Guarino-Eddington; Sharon Haile; Amy Jackson (photo above); Isis Mattei; Ada McGuire; Gail Polsky; Kathy Rutsch; Donna Spalter; Suzanne Stupple; Jenny Tatusko and Joe Tucker. Their Wednesday evening class is taught by New Rochelle High School art teacher Joanna Kornreich Schomber, a graduate of Queens College with a degree in Studio Art and a minor in Education. She obtained her Master’s Degree from the College of New Rochelle with a major in Studio Art and began teaching at NRHS in 1996. In addition to the professional instruction they receive Schomber’s adult students have the opportunity to experience New Rochelle High School’s superior ceramic facility, which boasts five kilns.

Among the more advanced students is Anna Fyodorova, who says she first tried her hand at ceramics in 2001.When she came to the Continuing Education class in 2005 her goal was to improve her wheel throwing skills, but she quickly discovered “that there was more to the craft of pottery than producing functional pieces on the wheel at a steady rate, and there is a great freedom of artistic expression that can be found in hand building and sculpting from clay. Working side by side with very diverse, artistic and fun group of people really broadened my horizons,” says Fyodorova. She says that “the most important lesson I learned over the years is that although having a good eye, skill and talent would be helpful, having patience, humility and ample unrushed time (as well as listening to the instructor’s advice!) really hold the keys for the impatient me: The more time is spent, the better is the piece.”

Fellow student Benita Gross echoed that feeling: “I find the infinite possibilities when one works with clay both freeing and daunting. The unpredictability of process of forming the clay and glazing has allowed me to feel more accepting of things that don’t turn out as expected -- in clay and in life.”

Amy Jackson says “Working with clay gives me great pleasure. It’s one of the only things I do where I am 100% present. To put it another way, when I’m working with clay I only think about the clay, and not my ‘to do list’.” Another student, retired teacher Roni Einhorn, says “Taking Joanna’s Ceramics class has allowed me to begin my “retirement check list” - - the things I never had the time to do.”

The New Rochelle school district offers a wide range of adult education classes, from computer skills and foreign languages to belly dancing, under the direction of Maureen Maire. Spring registration begins January 9th for classes beginning March 5th. Visit www.nred.org and click on Adult Education for more information.

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