The clay club is shaping Hofstra University students’ weekday evenings, giving them an outlet to express themselves, socialize and relieve stress, all while channeling their inner artist, regardless of experience and talent.
The Clay Club is a year old and has only been approved by the Student Government Association (SGA) since the middle of last semester. Over 170 students are involved already.
President and founder Sophie Weisman, a sophomore pre-medical studies major with a fine arts minor, has been an avid artist for years, creating pottery on the wheel since 2016. She wanted to continue her passion for art at the collegiate level but ran into a scheduling issue that prevented her from taking an intermediate-level ceramics class.
“I knew I wanted to have a creative outlet for people on campus, and there was so much interest shown in a club,” Weisman said.
Hofstra offers several art related organizations, but Weisman felt that these organizations were geared especially toward arts majors. She saw the need for students of all majors to explore art.
She focused on creating a club that stressed relaxation, so students could distract themselves from coursework and indulge in creating something.
“I love that I can just attend a Clay Club meeting, turn my brain off and focus on the thing that I am creating while chatting with friends. It’s a great way to unwind from the week,” said Ipek Basturk, biology major and secretary of the Clay Club. “Especially as a STEM major, I don’t get much time to create art. Clay Club allows me to be creative.”
The ambience of the club is homey. Music plays as the members sculpt their pieces, talking and smiling as they work.
“Clay Club stands out from [other organizations] because of its atmosphere,” Weisman said.
Clay Club focuses on inclusion and providing all supplies needed, free of charge. Students can bring home whatever they make during the meetings.
“I feel like the last time most people have touched clay is like elementary school. People lose their artistic side and creativity is needed in every major and in every field,” Weisman said.
In December, Clay Club hosted “Christmukkah,” their winter celebration. They collaborated with other Hofstra organizations such as Hofstra Hillel and the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement to create snow globes, ornaments and Hanukkiahs. Over 100 students participated in the Christmukkah celebration. It drew in an array of students, across all different majors and artistic experience levels.
“One particularly special memory from that meeting was being told that a new friend group formed because they all happened to sit at the same table and start talking about their interests,” said Taylor Bryan, a junior health science major and the public relations chair of the club.
Recently, the Clay Club won the Canvas Competition, an artistic competition between organizations at Hofstra, where students created a large canvas with images to represent their club. The Clay Club’s canvas displayed an image of an octopus with a masquerade mask, a mug and a snow globe alluding to events and activities that the club participated in.
“The fact that the club was able to flourish in such a short amount of time is not only a testament to the work that the e-board has done but also to the fact that so many people were invested in the club so quickly,” Weisman said.
This is just the beginning of the Clay Club, as Weisman and the e-board have a lineup of ideas and events planned in the near future. The organization now hosts meetings once a month in the Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center. For more information including meeting times, follow @clayclubhu on Instagram.
