“Students are seeing that ceramics is not just an art form… I'm going to make something, but there's a process and order to make it,” Andrea Sanguine, the Berkeley High School Ceramics teacher said. “A lot of folks come to ceramics class and they think it is only about pottery… and so my goal has always been to open up the world of ceramics to them.”
Sanguine has been working and teaching ceramics for over 26 years. Her preferred method of education lies in allowing for her students to express their unique creative perspectives through simple 3-D art techniques. From pinch pottery to geometric slaps, she covers it all, making sure her students are comprehending the complexity of a single piece of clay. “I hope that they leave with that knowledge (that) ceramics is actually this really big art form that is like any other art form-- it's a form of expression, it's a place where there is a community,” Sanguine said.
Although she creates the class environment to be more low-key and a place to let your creative mind wander and expand, Sanguine holds high standards in her classroom in order to ensure her students are bringing classic pottery skills and a well-thought-out design onto their wheels. She establishes every Monday to incorporate a lesson centering around a specific ceramist in history, then continues into the following weeks with a themed unit assignment. Sanguine’s wish is to analyze the students' skill-set as well as the wiring of their individual creative viewpoints.
Sanguine feels her students’ overall expressed attitude towards her class is extremely positive. Every single year, Sanguine is able to observe the gratitude and appreciation over 150 students hold towards this class. She observes her students’ separate interpretations, intentions, and imaginations grow as the months go on. “What I love about teaching ceramics is… showing these old concepts, these old ways of building and watching the young minds,” Sanguine said.
The students that have only just been exposed to this class’s curriculum and values narrate their deep adoration for the class. “I really enjoy it because I can be creative, and… I can put my own personality into it,” Emma Candler, a BHS sophomore, said, “It's kind of a break from the intense workload, but still exercising different parts of my brain and my creativity.”
Candler depicts her affection and fondness for what this class is, as well as what it offers. Being a very creative person, Candler feels as though she can expand her imaginative perspectives and ideas in this class. She appreciates the multitude of opportunities offered to her in this class where she is able to manifest her own perspective and personality in her work. This opportunity she senses, is not one present in her additional required classes.
This perspective regarding the class is not a unique one. Many of Sanguine’s other students feel similarly; that what is offered in this creative space is simply unattainable in any other art, science, language, or humanities class. “It's nice to have something that's different and unique,” Linnea Kalar, a BHS sophomore said. “It's one of my favorite classes. It's very calming. I really like the projects that we've been doing so far.”
Kalar highlights her gratitude for her ability to even take this extremely sought after course. “I feel really lucky to get in as a sophomore because a lot of people want to do it, and it's mostly seniors who have been wanting to do it since freshman year,” Kalar said. “I mean, I'm not the only sophomore… but definitely we're not the majority.”
Because of seniority taken into account when choosing classes for students, getting into this class as a freshman or sophomore is no small feat.
Nevertheless, what this class distinctively offers is an engaging curriculum that pushes artists to broaden their creative horizons. This class was specifically created to cultivate and nurture the inventive and imaginative minds of all students, regardless of their previous experience in pottery making. Its teachings directly contrast the fast paced digital art world, and focus on the analog aspect of the pottery. Sanguine has much pride for her students, and attempts to give them more of a universal perspective on pottery. “I try to give space to reflect on the ‘why is that important’ and recognize that we as humans have this vehicle to share our viewpoints,” Sanguine said.