It's What's Inside

Ritwik Varma / Celina Vargas

Books and pots, the meaningful space being that which is enclosed by the object. Pottery for storage and books for a story. Should you judge a book by its cover? In this instance, yes. The outside is what's inside that counts.

Ritwik Varma took his first beginner ceramics wheel-throwing class in the Spring of 2022 with Donna Lemongello at the Craft Center. What followed over the next two years can be said to be nothing short of an obsession. Ritwik would spend his entire day, every day that Spring Quarter in the ceramics studio and made as much as he could. Ritwik found immense joy in watching and feeling the clay move beneath his hands, learning from every ‘failure’ and beaming proudly at every success.

As the days turned to weeks, the weeks to months Ritwik couldn't help but share what he learned with others. Seeing other people struggle with the clay reminded him of when he had the same struggles, so he offered his knowledge enthusiastically to anyone that needed it. So much so, that Ritwik is now an instructor for the beginner wheel-throwing class and loves introducing ceramics to beginners.

This exhibition is really a showcase of progress, from his very first piece, to the very latest. You will be able to see the non-linear journey of his expression in clay. He is still exploring his style and figuring out what speaks to him, and he hopes that some of these pieces will speak to you.

Feel free to pick anything up, especially the mugs! Pottery is meant to be held and a lot of the pottery in this exhibition is on sale. So, if you see something you like, pick it up! If you really like it, feel free to purchase it and Venmo him using the Venmo QRs posted around the gallery.

Instagram: @Ritw.ik  Venmo: @Ritwik-Varma

Celina Vargas: Bookbinding combines my love of papercraft and sewing in a way that also feeds my desire for new sketchbooks. There are levels to bookbinding: from snake books that only require cutting and folding to perfect bound books that use a fair amount of material. Within each type of bookbinding, however, there are ways to push the boundaries of simplicity rendering even simple bindings into works that can be displayed in of themselves. Feel free to look through the books, but please make sure your hands are clean before you flip through the pages.

Thank you for looking and enjoy! -Celina

Instagram @celinacuisina