Furman Fellow boosts peers’ well-being through ceramics

Throwing a lump of clay onto a potting wheel and forming it into a bowl or a vase can be almost as transformative to the potter as the clay.

“It makes things feel more in balance in my life,” said Jake O’Connor ’24. “It’s therapeutic.”

Now he is using a Furman Fellows grant to offer ceramics, painting and other forms of art at the school through a series of outdoor workshops he hopes will relieve some of the stress and anxiety that students often experience.

O’Connor said his interest in ceramics began when he attended boarding school as a teenager and needed an art class to fulfill a requirement. Once there, though, he found it calming. During his first year at Furman, ceramics served as a lifeline when the pandemic forced his other classes online.

“That period of time was potentially when ceramics was most impactful in my life,” he said. “I can’t describe how grateful I was to be able to spend that time in the studio.”

The process of creating art has many benefits, including stress relief, improved focus and concentration, self-expression and a sense of accomplishment, O’Connor said. It also can help with mental and emotional health, he said, calling it a transformative experience.

“When you’re working on the wheel … it’s a little hypnotic,” he said. “You enter a flow state and you’re able to essentially practice centering both of the mind and literally on the wheel. It’s a more meditative, reflective practice.”

The project aims to provide participants with access to an artistic experience in a free and stress-free environment where people aren’t conscious about a grade and where their interest is in the act of creation, he said.

Four students participate in one of O’Connor’s pottery workshops.

About 25 students participated in each of the two four-hour workshops he’s held so far, some characterizing it as “relaxing,” “meditative” and “memorable.”

And by holding them outdoors, O’Connor hopes they will tap into the connection with nature that sparks creativity. He hopes to offer others in December ahead of stressful final exams and in the spring to take advantage of Furman’s beauty.

The Furman Fellows program

The Furman Fellows program is among the highest honors bestowed on Furman students and recognizes five seniors based on their accomplishments, contributions and potential. Each receives $10,000 thanks to the philanthropy of Trustee Emeritus Bob Buckman and his wife, Joyce Mollerup. The award is intended to encourage students to pursue their academic, creative and professional pathways.

O’Connor’s grant will fund a variety of quality art supplies to provide artistic options. He hopes to demonstrate a need so that something similar might be offered in the future.

While O’Connor worried that his project might be a long shot for the grant because he hadn’t seen many others related to the arts, he said he found encouragement from Assistant Art Professor Kevin Kao.

“I can’t explain how serious of an impact Professor Kao has had on me,” he said. “He guided me essentially through that first email, saying I could apply for this. He’s been there for me through this entire process.”

For his part, Kao remembers O’Connor as an enthusiastic student who came to class with a lot of experience on the potting wheel.

“He was familiar with and quite skilled at throwing,” he said, “and it was really remarkable to see his development happen over that course.”

O’Connor assist Ben Taylor ’24 during a workshop.

What the arts can do

Kao said O’Connor’s project will increase awareness about what the arts can do.

“It’s important for students to realize that there’s capacity for learning a new craft, engaging in the arts that’s not necessarily academic,” Kao said. “And students teaching each other, there’s something about that that’s been great.”

O’Connor, who is a business administration major, hopes to parlay his project into a nonprofit that can share the workshops not only at Furman, but on other college campuses. He was thrilled to receive the grant and thankful for his entire liberal arts and sciences experience at Furman.

“Furman’s been awesome,” he said. “I’ve been able to explore a variety of things I’ve been interested in. I don’t know if this opportunity would have been afforded to me anywhere else.”