STORY BY JASON GREEN, STAFF WRITER
Cypress College provides several art programs for students, and the ceramics department is one of them. The program helps students cultivate their skills and provide job opportunities, but there has been a challenge since moving from the Fine Arts building to the Fine Arts Swing Space (FASS).
The ceramics department, currently located in the FASS building while the Fine Arts building is under construction, offers a plethora of ceramics courses including ART 150 C Ceramics Handbuilding and ART 151 C Ceramics Throwing.
In addition, students can work as part-time lab technicians or as teacher’s assistants who help with many aspects of the department such as helping with glazing (painting), managing kilns, and keeping the ceramics studio clean.
“[Part-time lab technician] provides the opportunity to learn how to mix glazes, make slips, load kilns, unload kilns and ceramic majors really need that experience,” said ceramics professor, Mary Beierle.
Beierle mentioned that the program has sent ceramic majors to top schools, often with full rides, including the Kansas City Art Institute, and California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), which has one of the best ceramic programs in the country.
Due to the proximity between Cypress College and surrounding ceramic exhibitions, Beierle takes her students on field trips to the American Museum of Ceramic Art / AMOCA and Scripps College Ceramic Annual from time to time. She also takes her students to CSULB’s ceramic studio to see what the studio is like at the university level.
The transition from the Fine Arts building to the FASS building has been a challenge for the ceramics department. “Whenever you move, there are frustrations,” said Beierle, “We are a little squished in here, the kilns are far away.”
Kilns are used to harden clay by burning it. Having the kilns so far away is inconvenient for students, as their pieces are required to be fully dried before firing them or they run the risk of exploding in the kiln. This makes their pieces fragile during their commute to the kiln.
Beierle said numerous other supplies cannot be utilized while in FASS including spray booths, gas kilns, and experimental kilns since the space they have now is limited.
Even with constraints on certain supplies, the ceramics program remains beneficial for students. Second-year Cypress College graphic design major Shailya Patel said, “It teaches you patience,” he also mentioned how the process teaches students how to be okay with failing, which is vital in the arts.
Patel wanted to try ceramics and struggled, which meant he took a longer time than other students in ceramics, but he ended up enjoying it as he became more familiar with the art. The confidence he gained allowed him to feel comfortable taking what is now his fourth ceramics course at Cypress.
Untitled by Shailya Patel, using the pottery wheel. Photo by Shailya Patel
Gisselle Alcantar, a part-time lab tech in the ceramics department, said that ceramics is not like other arts since artists can utilize their art pieces as everyday items such as a cup for drinking.
As a part-time lab technician, Alcantar said, “We get to fire our own pieces” and use ceramic tools along with materials without taking the class.
Being a part-time lab technician, Alcantar can use the kilns for her own pieces without being in a class.
The ceramics department, while enduring some challenges, still provides classes for students that allow them to explore the art and the program. This helps them succeed in their journey, whether it’s in the program or not.
Untitled by Gisselle Alcantar, using the slab technique, where clay is rolled out, cut and manipulated to build a form. Photo by Gisselle Alcantar
