Meet your Monitors: Victory Nichols
Article by Lori Jonthas
Come by the studio Thursday between 4 and 7pm, and you'll meet monitor Victory Nichols. Victory is a relative newcomer to clay and joined Clay Arts Guild in January. She became a monitor in March, taking over the Thursday afternoon shift when the previous monitor, Susie, went to Portugal.
Born in Monterey, Victory grew up as an army baby, moving frequently, with home base being her grandparent's home in Moraga. She attended college at Bingham Young University in Utah, where she earned a Bachelor's degree in ancient history and met her future husband Dan. Vi ctory and Dan, who have been married three years, moved to Walnut Creek last August. Dan is a laywer in Oakland, and Victory is a stay-at-home mom to that cute little redheaded boy, Simon, you may have seen visiting the studio and who is now 18 months old.
Victory began working with clay about six years ago, when a friend in Utah introduced her to pottery. She enjoys both wheel throwing and hand-building, and is currently throwing pots in Ann Henderson's class. Victory is always eager to try something new, saying, "I like to just play around and see what the clay will do."
The feel of clay, its texture beneath her fingers, is one of Victory's favorite things about ceramics. She is inspired by the natural world and enjoys the creative process, explaining, "I like figuring out hot to reproduce a shape - how nature does it. How can I produce that?" She also love anticipation of how a finished piece will look coming out of the kiln.
Victory became a monitor to have a designated time to be in the studio outside of class. Her regular shift makes it easier to arrange babysitting for her son, and she gets a chance to know other artists. "I really like the social network of the Guild", she says. "It's filled with fun, independent people who are comfortable with themselves, and I like that."