Nick Kronauer, a student at Bromfield, has been making pottery for the past four years. Nick has his own wheel at home which he uses in his free time. He also has taken pottery classes both at the Bromfield and through private lessons in Deerfield, MA with Lucy Fagella.

Working under the instruction of Bromfield pottery teacher Julie Cook, Nick fine-tuned his throwing skills using a mid-fire earthenware clay body with an assortment of cone four to six glazes. The majority of his work has been throwing functional ware such as bowls, mugs, and cups. He explains, "Functional ware provides me with a chance to be creative while at the same time focus on the use of the item. Other projects I have done include an array of different vases and a few non-functional pieces such as a three-foot tall Cactus which won recognition at the Mount Wachusetts Community College 28th Annual Regional Art Exhibit in 2010."

Sometimes he combines both the wheel and hand-building in developing a single piece. Nick explains, "Making my cactus would probably be the piece I had the most fun making. I was able to incorporate both the wheel and hand-building into one giant sculpture. It was also fun having people question what I was making throughout the process because it looked nothing like a cactus until the final stages."

"To me the best part about making pottery is the ability to create something out of a simple lump of clay that is intriguing and beautiful which you and others will enjoy and use. It is very satisfying stepping off the wheel and admiring the work that you have just done."

Currently, studying with Bromfield ceramics teacher Tom Linville, Nick's emphasis has been on hand-building using a low to mid fire clay body with cone three to five glazes. "During this school year, my work on the wheel was primarily focused on a minimalist prospective of vases with simple as well exaggerated shapes accompanied with a basic white matte glaze. I have also worked more this year on hand- building sculptures mainly with non-functional purposes."

As well as working with clay, Nick describes himself as a mostly self-taught amateur photographer. He shoots in digital format with Nikon SLRs and a Leica M9 camera.

"I started to take photos when I went to Europe with my family which was when my father began getting involved with digital cameras during the mid 2000s. My father has been a photographer for most of his life. His interest with a camera influenced me to follow in his footsteps."

"I enjoy taking photographs for both the artistic side as well as capturing the moment around me. I have always enjoyed creating and studying art. Photography like pottery is a way for me to extend my creative side and produce something worth looking at in the process. Photography is definitely something that I am very interested in and hope to study more intently in the future. I have also created a website where I have posted some of my better photos in hope to gain a little recognition for my work and to motivate myself to keep taking pictures." To check out Nick's website to see more of his photography work, visit http://maximiliankronnauer.tumblr.com/..