Ceramics is a brand new addition to the WHHS art curriculum, taught by Liz Lloyd.

Lloyd, a visual arts teacher, teaches Ceramics, Art XX (Sculptures), Art X (Textiles) and Jr Art. It was her decision to bring the class to WHHS.

“The plan was to add it sooner than this, but with COVID and everything else, it was a little crazy,” Lloyd said.

Lloyd brought the class to WHHS after writing the curriculum for Ceramics one and two herself.

“I previously worked at Dater High School for seven years and I taught [Ceramics] there for three years before coming to Walnut,” Lloyd said.

The semester-long class focuses on using clay as a medium for art.

“I teach two sections in the fall and two in the spring. The classes max out, ideally at 25 per class, which is a big class for ceramics, but I have worked with counselors to add a couple extra students,” Lloyd said.

Ceramics took the optioning process by storm with over 300 students wanting to take it. 

When asked why the class got so popular, Lloyd said, “the fact it is such a tangible, tactile option for students. Everyone knows what clay is‌. Everyone has played with clay at some point, whether it is clay, or Model Magic or modeling clay. Overall, it is a medium that is very appealing.”

Initially, the class was open for grades 9-12, but the counselors decided to offer the class to seniors first, then to juniors. Often, if a student optioned for an AP class only offered 5th or 6th bell, which are the same bells Ceramics takes place, they would not be placed in Ceramics because the AP class took priority.

Lloyd expressed her hesitancy to take charge of who would be placed in the class, especially because many of the students who optioned for Ceramics were upperclassmen she had never had in class before. 

“I did not know their work ethic, so it was not fair for me to say. The counselors made decisions based literally on if it fit into their schedule,” Lloyd said.

Because of the class’s popularity, Ceramics includes students of all artistic abilities, from experienced artists to newcomers. Lloyd mentioned that out of the 55 students currently taking ceramics, the amount of students with extensive art experience can be counted on two hands.

One experienced artist, SENIOR Adeleigh Karoutchi, who has already taken Pro Media Design, AP Studio Art Drawing, AP 2D Art and AP 3D Art at WHHS, is excited about her Ceramics course this semester. Karoutchi mentions previously dealing with a lot of clay last year in AP Art 3D.

“I did a lot of work with clay last year, and I had a lot of fun with that, but I did not get to make as many functional pieces. I am excited to get to make things I can actually use this year,” Karoutchi said.

The future of the Ceramics course has been a prevalent topic of discussion in the visual art department.

In order to expand the class to fit more people, an additional teacher will be needed. The four visual art teachers have even talked about a possible Ceramics two option in the future.

 “There is a lot of potential. It just all comes down to what we are able to do as a school and what works with the curriculum,” Lloyd said.

No matter what the future of the Ceramics course looks like, Lloyd will continue to update her curriculum based on what peaks students’ interests.

“My teaching philosophy is I go over an idea, I show you how to create [art] using certain techniques, in our case, working with clay, so slab, punch, coil, whatever, then I like the student to choose from there. That is what makes me most excited about the class, giving them the creative freedom to make those decisions,” Lloyd said.