Students have a variety of electives to choose from for their schedules. Some of these are agriculture related, business related, journalism related, or art related. One of the art courses offered is Advanced Ceramics. For some students, they may have an inherited talent for art, so taking those classes are natural for them.
“My family has always been involved in a lot of art, so when I saw ceramics it was something no one in my family had done before, so I wanted to try it,” senior James Bell said, who is related to local artist Judy Mackey.
Students of the ceramics class state mainly their projects are chosen for them, but art teacher Hugo Escobar does allow creative freedom. When deciding on the shape, or an idea for a project, students use Pinterest, or watch YouTube videos on ceramics. To start a project, students gather clay, weigh it, then remove the air bubbles to make the process easier.
“Getting a project started isn’t very difficult,” junior Hadison Hatcher said. “I enjoy it because I like to sketch out what I’m doing and that’s the first step.”
Although ceramics can look difficult at first, students say there is a variety of choices for technique to create the projects with. Sophomore Mateus Mitchell says there are many methods to choose from, if one isn’t working the best for you. To make a pot, you use centering and pulling to create the shape you want. Sometimes, these can be difficult.
“A challenge I face quite frequently is when opening I uncenter my project and have to work with an uncentered project when pulling, which makes it much more difficult to control,” Mitchell said.
Most of the students in the ceramics class have taken an art class before. Many started in drawing classes and were intrigued with the ceramics tools and projects created with them.
“I always thought the pots and cups I saw were interesting, and I’ve always wanted to try it,” junior Micayla Simpson said.
