The pottery in the glass case in the HUB is not just pottery of the hands, but of the artist's mind and spirit as well.

Pat Wolfe's art has a profound effect in her life. While many people chew nails or pull hair as a means of stress relief, she sits at the wheel and creates her pottery. Some of her work now rests in the HUB exhibit, which ends today.

Wolfe, now an elementary school art teacher, began throwing pottery in the mid-1960s as an undergraduate student at the University. She said she enjoyed her art classes, but it was not until she came under the instruction of retired professor Kenneth Beittel that pottery took on a special meaning for her. "I got kind of immersed in the whole Zen philosophy of pottery," Wolfe said.

Beittel provided through example the inspiration for Wolfe's work. "I really think that if it wasn't for the philosophy he instilled in (his students), I wouldn't be where I am today," she said.

Working with the clay provides a "centering" effect for Wolfe; a time for her to come back to herself, she said. When the day is dragging, or she is feeling down, she said she takes to the wheel, and her problems seem to melt away as the clay begins to open up into a workable form.

"It brings a lot of things into perspective," she said. The clay work helps her to pick up the pieces and go on with life.

The technique she uses to throw her pottery has a lot to do with the calming effect of her work and is not the normal technique of potters today, she said.

Wolfe uses a kick wheel, whereas the most common technique today is an electric wheel. The kick wheel is exactly what it sounds like, a big wheel that turns manually by giving it a kick with the foot to set it in motion.

Isabel Farrell, director of the HUB Craft Center, said using a kick wheel is "like rubbing your stomach and patting your head. It's a different kind of skill because you have to manipulate the wheel with your foot while working the pottery with your hands."

Wolfe said despite the greater effort involved in working the kick wheel, she insists on using it. "It's a more natural, down to earth way to work than using the electric wheel," she said.

Farrell said the public apparently appreciates the work, because people are always standing in front of the case in which the pottery is displayed.

Another aspect of Wolfe's pottery that reflects her down to earth attitude is the colors in the glazes she chooses. She uses shades reminiscent of the earth: deep browns, mustard yellow, and olive green. These colors, like everything else about Wolfe's work, reflect the natural feeling with which they were created.