Ceramics is more than just working with clay – it’s a hands-on exploration of creativity, patience and precision. Unlike other art classes, where mistakes can be erased or undone with a swift move, every piece in ceramics reflects the effort and choices made along the way.

Liz Lloyd, an art teacher at WHHS, teaches ceramics alongside other art classes. In ceramics, Lloyd doesn’t stick to a strict rubric, allowing students to adapt their work to their own ideas.

“I’ll present a project and give an idea of what we’re striving towards, but if they don’t like it and they present a new idea that [incorporates] the same skills, then I’m completely open to them changing it,” Lloyd said.

Compared to most forms of art, ceramics is a lot more hands-on, with students learning how to work with clay as well as learning new skills with different levels of difficulty.

“[The students] learn basic hand-building skills, such as pinch, coil and slab building,” Lloyd said. “[Doing research on ceramic artists also] helps develop their skills more because it gets them to think outside the box.”

Students also feel as though the class gives them more artistic liberties than other art classes that have certain deadlines and requirements.

“Ceramics class is at your own pace, compared to other classes,” Tab Gannaway, ‘26, a ceramics student, said. “With textiles, there were strict deadlines. But because ceramics is more of a difficult craft, it takes more time for people to adjust to it and it takes longer to do.”

Gnaht Cheick, ‘26, is also taking ceramics after taking textiles last year. Cheick expressed how the class material differs from other art forms.

“I’ve taken textiles where you’re working with fabric, whereas in ceramics you work with clay which is a lot more hands on and is messier,” Cheick said. 

Though it is more of an uncommon art form, ceramics has a lot to offer, as it gives people a tangible way to express themselves. 

“I’ve been really surprised by students who are taking this class as their first art class,” Lloyd said, “Maybe they were taking choir or a theatre class, and when they take this class, they say, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m not an artist.’ And when the class is over, they come out of it being an artist.”