Creativity in Quarantine

Although quarantine, separation and distance learning brought an all-too-long respite from the bustling enthusiasm, energy and creativity usually found in Tabor’s ceramic studio, it didn’t prevent a number of young alumni from gathering together (physically distanced, of course) to participate in a very special art project. This spring, Kevin Arnfield, the school’s visual arts teacher, contacted young alumni from near and far to judge their interest and ability to participate in an outdoor art experiment. With alumni on board, he set up shop in the nearby Rochester woods in mid-August and held a masterclass in potting, sculpture and glazing on his wood-fired salt kiln. Arnfield and his former students spent two days feeding the fire with two full cords of wood before the kiln reached its ideal temperature of 2400 degrees Fahrenheit. All those who participated in this socially distanced makeshift studio, including Nicole McLaughlin ’16, Thomas Kelly ’16, Vyper LaTulippe ’19, Gabe McCollester ’19, Eric Paliotta ’19, James Estabrook ’20, Kevin Arnfield, Albertine Arnfield, and Bob Mogilnicki ’76, were warmed as much by the opportunity to work together around a shared passion, as they were by the heat radiating from the kiln.