Janice Kai Chen ’19, 
Woodworking Fellow

I wandered into the woodworking shop almost four years ago with little experience and asked if I could build a 16-foot sea kayak. Over the next few years, I learned how to work a chisel (haven’t quite got it down yet), steam and shape wood, and decipher the cryptic language of boat-building manuals. But even more than a chance to gain material skills, the woodshop is a place where learning stretches beyond the ten-week term and its looming deadlines, a place to make mistakes and imperfect things.

I was lucky to have discovered the woodworking shop early in my time at Dartmouth, and of course, I owe it to Janet, Greg, Dudley et al. for indulging a project that made me stick around for long enough to realize how special of a space the shop truly is. I am excited to spend more time at the woodshop this academic year as the Hopkins Center Woodworking Fellow. I feel a spoon craze coming. 

Berit DeGrandpre ’20,
Jewelry Fellow

The fantastic opportunity to work on projects and develop new skills in the Claflin Jewelry Studio has been an essential creative outlet for me throughout my time at Dartmouth. Over the course of the last three years, I have grown as an artist and jeweler, and gained confidence in my technical abilities in the studio. I’m looking forward to another great year of learning, growing, and creating new art! 

The Claflin Jewelry Studio is such an incredible place on campus, filled with supportive people, inspiring art, and unparalleled resources. During my fellowship in the Hopkins Center, I’m so excited to work on student engagement in the studio and help bring new students in so they can find ways to express their own creativity!  

Finding Resolve

Case Hathaway-Zepeda ’09,
Claflin Jewelry Studio Instructor

This fall, as I turned my compost pile, harvested our remaining kale, and put our vegetable garden “to sleep,” I reflected with awe on how much my life has changed since coming to New Hampshire 14 years ago as a member of Dartmouth’s class of 2009.

I was so proud when looking at the fruits of my labor. I’ve never done that level of homesteading before. Growing up in Los Angeles certainly didn’t prepare me for this way of living. It was my time in the Jewelry Studio that did.

Inspired by Visiting Artists

Jenny Swanson,
Ceramics Studio Director

Last spring the Hood Museum invited renowned Native American ceramist Diego Romero to campus. Students were introduced to his work, described in American Craft journal as “political, humorous, timeless.” It was mesmerizing to watch him make a vessel in our studio, burnish a surface, and describe his career in ceramics.