to do,’” he said.“ I loved Legos as a kid. I loved building. I’ m not a great 2-D person. That’ s what I pictured art as – 2D. I never viewed myself as an artist because I didn’ t know that these other mediums existed.”
Rives said the first semester was mainly tabletop work with hand building, an introduction to clay.
“ Once I hit my second semester in pottery, I got on the wheel and that’ s where things really took off,” he said.“ Over a semester, I really built up some pretty substantial skills.”
His first pottery project – as an adult – was a pyramid vase. Rives said he remembers creating a pinch pot in kindergarten that was yellow with brown speckles. He said he doesn’ t know what happened to it. His pyramid vase, however, is on display in his studio.
“ I’ m really big into Egyptology. I
“
Something is truly magical about taking this gray lump, adding material to it and just making it into something beautiful that someone will fall in love with.
”