The Fine Arts Department at Brush High School recently debuted a display of inspiring and impressive ceramic artwork created by students in grades 9-12. Created under the direction of Art Teacher Mrs. April Lewis, the display features projects from various ceramics courses. The Advanced Ceramics course has three featured projects. For the Spirit Animals project, students first answered questions about which specific animal personifies their personality before using their problem-solving skills to select the appropriate building method to create their spirit animal sculpture. The Mosaics project required students to incorporate several contents into their final artwork, including clay, something of personal interest to place onto their board, and additional mosaic pieces such as glass. The third and final Advanced Ceramics class project involved the creation of art emulation relief tiles whereby students emulated a specific artist’s style within a ceramic tile.
The display also includes several projects from the Ceramics 2 classes. After researching the Tiki culture and Easter Island, students created their own personal Tiki gods, incorporating their own unique characteristics and interests while retaining traditional Tiki features. Students also learned about the Pop Art movement, applying their research and problem- solving skills to select the best method to create their Pop Art inspired sculptures.
Students taking an introductory course in Ceramics learned about different types of coil pots and the specific method used to create them. The students then created their own coil pots with careful consideration of the final dimensions.
Due to challenges related to COVID-19, students were unable to glaze or paint their final projects. As a result, they were left in a Bisqueware state, which usually applies to unfinished pottery that needs to be glazed and fired again. Mrs. Lewis hopes to offer Ceramics courses again in the near future and provide students the opportunity to finish their projects.
A special thank-you to Mrs. Lewis for her expert instruction and dedication to ensuring that our students’ hard work and talent were recognized. Finally, congratulations to all participating students on their individually unique and impressive ceramic creations!