2008 Woodie Awards
Burns has passion for ceramic art
Mina Tsuboi
Issue date: 9/26/06 Section: Entertainment
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Burns has been working at Ottawa University since June 1987. In 1991, while working at OU, she took her first ceramics class. She fell in love with throwing pots at the potter's wheel during her class. Burns took several more clay classes and soon became an art major.
Burns loves many aspects of this type of art.
"I especially enjoy the creative aspect of pottery, making a perfectly round container and then changing its shape to reveal an entirely different look," Burns said.
Since she started, many of her friends and co-workers have bought her pots. Sometimes Burns brings her pottery to art fairs to sell.
"To say that Chris was and is enthusiastic about her art is an understatement. To say she is neurotic is over the top. Her work is always fresh, real, in the moment," Frank Lemp, associate professor of visual art, said. "I would say she is a passionate, keen observer of life who loves clay almost as much as her family, relatively speaking."
Wednesday, Sept. 21, Burns showed how she plays with clay at the art center. The art department had a stock of clay because they recycle from the ceramic class that is offered during spring semester. Burns took a lump of clay, began kneading it like she was making dough, and threw it on the table to remove air bubbles.
Next, she sat a bat (a small tray) on the throwing wheel, and put the clay on it. As soon as she started to spin the wheel, she touched the lump of clay with water. While she manipulated the clay freely, it changed its shape to taller, wider or nicely round. After she formed the clay on the wheel, Burns took it back to a table and decorated it. During this project, she added two little ears, made two eyes, a nose, and a big smile, even though her son told her that "pigs don't smile."
Burns shared a story about the last time she had made a pottery pig, one she named Daisy. While she was decorating Daisy, she thought the pig needed something more, so she sat looking at her for a while.
"Clay talks to me; that day it said: 'I need a hat,'" Chris said.
Chris was a full time student at OU from 1985-86. She took one class per semester beginning in 1987 until she graduated in 2003.
"Sometimes I wish I still had time to take classes because every moment of it was worthwhile," Burns said.
With her first-hand knowledge of what it's like to be an OU student, Burns is always sympathetic to what students are going through. Residence Life Coordinator Shelly Roben-Lojka works at same office with Burns.
"Chris is genuine caring, values interactions with students. She thinks each individual student is important, and wants to provide them comfortable environment to ask questions to get assistance," Roben-Lojka said.
Junior Jim Randolph enjoys talking to Burns.
"She is nice to people and knows about school a lot," Randolph said.
During her work she spends many hours with students, and that is one of the most favorite parts of her job.
"I am more than willing to talk to students." And sometimes she sends them away smiling, with a beautiful new pot!
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