North Coast Journal: CR Ceramics Community
Dec 12 2024by Kelby McIntosh
Sculpting Community: College of the Redwoods' ceramics class helps veterans reconnect through clay
In a quiet corner of the College of the Redwoods campus, veterans gather twice weekly to shape and mold clay in a ceramics program customized for them. As rhythmic thuds of hands pressing and slapping clay at workstations fill the room, the warmth radiating from the class transforms a standard ceramics studio into a safe space for those who share the experience of having served in the military. At the heart of this initiative is its lead instructor, Joe Fox, a U.S. Air Force veteran and College of the Redwoods alum, who felt the therapeutic power of ceramics personally and decided he needed to share it.
Fox created this sanctuary through his love of art, which he discovered during his own recovery, initially having approached clay as an experiment.
"I've been a woodworker and carpenter all my life," Fox says. "I thought, 'I've never done ceramics, I can do that.'" But what he found went beyond his expectations.
"I practiced mindfulness techniques with the clay," he says. "I realized that working with clay without an expectation was very healing."
The hands-on experience — sculpting, shaping and reimagining raw material — became a tool for his healing. Driven by his own experience, Fox collaborated with Shannon Sullivan, a professor of art at the college, and Jackie Vasquez, his assistant ceramics instructor who has a background in expressive arts therapy. Together, they've cultivated a space every Tuesday and Friday at the community college where veterans can find community, relief and, perhaps most importantly, connection. The program was founded in March of 2022 and, in Fox's words, is an "experimental art class," giving him a chance to combine his knowledge of behavioral science and addiction studies with his newfound love of ceramics to connect those with similar experiences.