San José State’s Ceramics Guild held its annual Spring Student Tent sale on 7th Street with a selection of handmade glass and ceramic creations from Monday to Thursday.
The Ceramics Guild is SJSU’s ceramics club and currently has 19 members, according to their website.
Various colored glass cups, differently shaped ceramic bowls and jewelry were available for anyone interested in supporting the program by purchasing student-made pieces.
Zahid Thani, a fourth-year economics major with a minor in ceramic art and president of the Ceramics Arts Guild, said he contacted ceramic and glass artists to participate in the event.
“It’s all handmade work by local artists … It’s very fulfilling when we worked hard on something and had a great result,” Thani said.
The ceramics and glass sale was open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., while jewelry and metal sales were open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The SJSU climbing club also had a table set up partnering with The West Coast Plug offering racks of shirts and sweatshirts for sale for passerbys.
The West Coast Plug is a Bay Area clothing trading business, according to its Instagram page.
AkbayanSJSU had a separate booth where they sold stickers and Dungeons & Dragons-themed character sheets.
AkbayanSJSU is a club about celebrating Filipino American culture and is a social group for Filipino people, according to its website.
The group is also collecting donated pennies with a goal of raising money to cover the costs for an End of the Year Banquet, according to a Monday AkbayanSJSU Instagram post.
The top of its tent was decorated with a poster titled “Akbayan Memories 25-26,” where attendees could stick a Post-It with their response to, “What was your favorite memory from this semester?”
Jo Aquino, SJSU alumna and one of the people running the ceramics tent at the event, said there are typically around 20 students and volunteers that place their pieces for sale.
“I think it’s a good advertisement for the (ceramics) club and for the program itself,” Aquino said. “A lot of beginner students, at least they try to recoup the costs of materials … it’s not a cheap hobby.”
Aquino said she struggles with arthritis and finds comfort in molding clay and creating ceramics.
Arthritis is a condition that causes pain, swelling and tenderness in joints, according to a Mayo Clinic webpage.
“It’s been a great (form of) physical therapy for my hands,” Aquino said. “It’s a way to keep my body going in case something goes downhill.”
Art therapy is an effective stress and anxiety reliever in universities because of the creation process that follows, according to a March 4, 2024 Frontiers in Psychiatry study.
Makena Strauss, fourth-year art studio practice major, sold her original glass art at the event and said she enjoys it even though she just started working with glass.
“I’m very happy that SJSU has a glass studio, but I’m very disappointed that I didn’t take the initiative sooner,” Strauss said.
The ceramics and glass studios are located in the Industrial Studies building, according to an SJSU College of Humanities and the Arts webpage.
The ceramics club is scheduled to host its Cup Swap and Potluck event this Friday at 6 p.m., where club members are encouraged to bring their own cups and engage in a white elephant-style cup swap, according to a Wednesday SJSU Ceramics Instagram post.
“My favorite thing is when people buy our stuff and end up taking a class,” Aquino said. “(People) realize it’s much harder than they expect … but it makes them more determined to make something better.”
