Keith Hill, D.D.S. He’s too much of a dentist to be considered bohemian. But that doesn’t keep Keith V. Hill, D.D.S., FAGD, from trying, he said. By day, he’s in Health Science Center clinics leading and supervising a team of 25 students through dental procedures. But on most evenings, after he gets home, he grabs his backpack and bike and rides to a local haven for ceramic artists—the Alamo City Pottery Workshop. There, the fridge is stocked with beer and shelves are lined with pottery projects in the works. And Dr. Hill has his own wheel, where he throws clay and molds it into art. After 38 years in dentistry, the last seven spent teaching, dentistry is what he thinks about before sleep takes over. It’s his first thought in the morning. As he’s driving home from work, he's thinking about different techniques to share with his students. “I think it’s true about any medical profession, it can become all you’re about,” said Dr. Hill, assistant professor in the Department of General Dentistry. “You need multiple diversions to break the train of thought and give your brain a rest, give your body some rejuvenation, recreation and do something completely opposite of what you are engaged in.” At the point where dentistry became all-consuming, Dr. Hill decided it was time to find an outlet. He never thought of himself as artistically inclined, but he saw his father find joy in oil painting. Art, he mused, could be one way to break away from the rigidity of his profession and bring some peace to his overworked brain. “There are very exacting protocols to accomplish a dental procedure and we’re very rigidly trying to achieve perfection in everything that we do,” he said. “The only way I knew to find release or a mode of expressing my individuality was to start doing some artwork, and I had always been fascinated with ceramics.” After more than a dozen ceramics classes in the span of about five years, Dr. Hill’s distraction has become more than a hobby. It’s become his therapy. To date, he’s created upwards of 300 bowls. Some are painted in vibrant colors in homage to the multicultural city he lives in, others are textured and glazed in soothing earth tones. He uses the paintbrushes his dad used, and feels an emotional connection to the man who introduced art into his life. Dr. Hill used to give away his bowls to students at Christmastime as gag gifts. Today, students and colleagues alike ask him for his pieces. They decorate the School of
Dentistry, often sitting atop desktops and shelves. He’s also started selling his artwork, participating in local art shows and sales through the pottery workshop. Though dentistry must be exact, art is fluid and flexible. He has learned that imperfections can lead to beautiful and functional art. Flexibility is one of the things he likes the most about ceramics. “Dentists tend to be terribly critical of themselves, even when a procedure has been successful. When you create something away from your profession, it helps you be a little bit more flexible and not be so hard on yourself. It helps me be a little more tolerant, and recognize that in anything we do, there are going to be flaws and imperfections. Even with great success, even with something that looks beautiful. “And it has added something else that’s important. It has added to my mental health.”
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