Artist Spotlight: Chidi B. ’25

As many ceramic artists know, flexibility is key in the creative process. Most ceramic artists use clay that must be heated in a giant oven called a kiln to around two thousand degrees to be fully solidified. In the hours to days that the kiln takes to fully heat the pieces, many things can go wrong. If the clay is not fully dry, it can crack. If the clay is too thick, it can explode. There are so many variables that must be controlled to produce a piece exactly how the artist imagined, which rarely happens. This variability and uncertainty turn away many prospective artists when learning how to make pottery. The kiln strikes fear into even the most experienced ceramic artists. Chidi Biosah, a junior at Vistamar, learned how to conquer the kiln with a simple skill: adaptation. 

This year, Chidi has been working on her art portfolio, aiming to include pieces inspired by Nigerian artifacts to reflect her cultural identity. One of the pieces she recently finished was inspired by the Benin Bronzes, a group of sculptures from the ancient Kingdom of Benin, which was located in present-day Nigeria.

 Chidi sculpted the face out of clay and put it in the kiln, but it broke. After she found out it broke, she shared that she “had to improvise and think of ways [she] could make it nice.” So she used spray paint to turn the outside golden-bronze, except for the inside of the face that had fallen off. She used glaze, a paint used for clay that turns glossy once put in the kiln, to paint the green and white Nigerian flag on. After glazing and firing the head once more, she taped off the glazed part to spray paint the head, imitating the Benin Bronzes. Although Chidi’s process for making this piece did not go as planned, she told us that she learned to trust the process and keep her head up when making art. 

Photo Credit: Chidi B.