In a room filled with a damp earthy smell and decorated vases lining the walls, ceramic students took layers of soft, moldable clay and rolled them into thick long ropes to create coils. These coils were then stacked upon one another to create larger structures ranging from bowls to mugs.

According to Ceramics teacher Mrs. Hanania, this technique known as coil building, is one of the most versatile techniques in ceramics. “You can really build anything with a coil. It could be something functional like a mug or a bowl, or it could be something more sculptural like a torso or a head or really any sort of object.”

Mrs. Hanania’s period six Intro to Ceramics students have been taking on this project and making it their own. The students were all required to use the coil building technique and to draw and plan their idea out before building it out of clay.

While sophomore Khalifa Dia worked on smoothing out the coils in his bowl, he explained his idea to include carved leaves on the exterior to represent the changing of seasons and his welcome to autumn. Dia expressed his enjoyment in the designing process and said, “Even if it’s not perfect, you still feel proud of what you are making.”

On the other side of the room, sophomores Brandon Bastek and Aiden Erlich work together on their projects. As they stacked clay coils, they chatted and enjoyed the stress free environment of the classroom.

Like Dia’s fall themed bowl, Bastek and Erlich also went with the nature theme for their designs. Rather than choosing to focus on autumn’s colorful leaves, these students wanted to reminisce about Summer vacation and their days at the beach and in the ocean.

Bastek chose to decorate his candle holder with designs of coral and the ocean. He planned on cutting holes into the side of the structure to create an effect where light shines out from all directions when a candle is inserted.

Erlich planned on creating a ceramic beach scene, with coils wrapped tightly into spirals to represent the ocean’s waves. His bowl’s design included a painted sunset with colors blending into the spiral waves as well as additional texture to mimic sand and rocks.

While these three ceramic students started with the same clay and same technique, their projects were each molded to reflect their personal creativity, making this coil building project unique to them.