Our school offers its students a four-year course on 3D art. This course allows students to use their creativity and childlike minds to create pieces that will then be shaped into beautiful and practical art. The main ceramics teacher, Mrs. Ackerman, teaches all four levels.
Mrs. Ackerman explained that the first level, which is a half-year course, teaches all the basic methods of construction that are needed to succeed in ceramics. In this level, students complete assignments given by either Mrs. Ackerman or Mrs. Petruziello, the two leading Ceramics teachers.
Once the first level course is completed, you can continue to level two, three, and four (all levels correspond with your year). In these higher-level courses, students can expand upon and use their freedom of creativity to design and construct as they please. However, in course level three/four, Mrs. Ackerman likes to refer to it as “an independent study” in which students can propose their ideas while also completing what they are assigned, such as construction and grading. In addition to this flexibility, if students were to miss a project, they then have the freedom to complete it and revise it. Students are given the opportunity to practice the tried and true ways of construction while having the freedom to choose their design and subjects. Mrs. Ackerman likes to provide an environment where students aren’t stressed, and instead she prider herself on having a place where they can decompress while learning.
Mrs. Petruziello has expressed her love for teaching ceramics as, “It’s so hands-on. Humans have made stuff out of dirt and clay for 50,000 years plus, and it’s a natural thing to do. It’s a nice balance between things we can use in our daily lives and things that are pretty to hang on our walls. The functional things of ceramics are a nice result of taking the class.”
Some students who have excelled in the class and have shown true, beautiful pieces and shared their own experiences with our school’s ceramic course:
Kite Rozell expressed that ceramics is a different kind of art that is both exciting and experimental, since most of the time they do not get to work with 3D art. What they like about ceramics is the outcome of decorations designed and created by themself. This course has given them the rare opportunity to create their designs and ideas and see them unfold before them once they’ve finished.
Kathleen Malia explained how ceramics is a great creative outlet. It’s a class where she’s able to work and creatively design while also decompressing. The piece above is a favorite of hers as it was her first ever piece created in this course, taken in her first year. It is a piece she made for her mom. She feels proud to have made something so meaningful & adorable for her mother, who places all beautiful and honor-worthy items inside the house for showcase.
Julia Appello expressed how molding the clay is always fun and experimental. Not only is it quite fun but it is also therapeutic and has allowed her to tune out the busyness from her academic classes and turn her focus onto something different. While creating, she listens to music allowing her to further in her decompression, even during a stressful day.
