Community members gathered for Palo Alto Art Center’s Night at the Museum event, showcasing a gallery tour and a hands-on clay workshop on Friday. The event exhibited their Clay Sustains gallery and gave families the opportunity to learn how to make their own ceramic sculptures.
The evening began with Heewon Park, the Palo Alto Art Center School and Teacher Programs Director, introducing the event’s purpose. Centered around the sculptures on display, participants learned the meaning behind the pieces, and kids asked questions about any sculptures they were interested in.
The first piece was “Freefall,” featuring ceramic link chains on the wall in different colors and ceramic plates. Attendees then marveled at a large clay piece decorated with corals and designs, created by Mountain View High School students.
Park moved on to the next piece, highlighting “Tree Spirits,” which showcased multiple colorful ceramic heads with tree-type bodies and “Drift,” a sculpture of the top of a body that changed with the different physical perspectives. The piece represents the connecting relationship between humans and nature.
Finally, Park stopped at one specific piece, a wall full of ceramic corals. She explained the piece’s message of sustainability and highlighted the beauty of the corals, explaining the precision required of every coral placed. Because of climate change’s impact on the corals, Park prompted participants to share ways to be more sustainable, such as using cleaner energy and avoiding plastic. “The coral wall one is probably the most meaningful one because that piece was the inspiration for tonight’s event,” Park said.
Participants were then led to the children’s clay room, where ceramics instructor Mo Moran demonstrated how to create a coral-themed ceramic sculpture. Moran’s instructions began with making a pinch pot and later adding corals and texture with various tools.
“[My daughter has] been asking me to learn about ceramics, she wants to have a kiln at our house, and I told her we could come to the arts center and learn about it,” attendee Amy Krystosik said. For the rest of the evening, participants worked on their ceramic sculptures and underglazed them at the end.
Beyond being a fun evening activity, Moran hopes the event will introduce community members to more opportunities to explore and the resources and activities available at the Palo Alto Art Center. “Sometimes it’s hard to commit to a longer class, so I think this is cool because it lets people dip their toes in the water and figure out what the process is all about and might expose them to some of the more creative resources, the gallery, and the things that the city has,” Moran said.
In addition to introducing ceramics, the Night at the Museum event also focused on the importance of sustainability and the center’s efforts to help the planet by making the center as eco-friendly as possible. “I’m very glad they are also focusing on sustainability in the corals because I think it’s a very beautiful representation of the diversity we want to protect this world, and I’m so glad we’re using them in our artwork today,” Krystosik said.
“This was kind of an inaugural [event] and also a pilot one, and when we first posted this event, we weren’t quite sure whether we’re going to fill it up but now it’s a full house, so we’re very thankful,” Park said. “Maybe moving forward, we would probably like to host another one that’s themed around the exhibition.”
