Ceramics is a popular elective here at Bullard High! If you are ever looking for a new and exciting class for next year, then this may be a class for you. This class teaches you techniques of pottery, which have been around for thousands of years. This class also teaches you concepts like the color scale which helps in everyday life. For example, the way you dress, furniture color schemes, and the way you decorate. You may not realize you’re utilizing the color scale, but these are the subtle teachings of Mr. Cox.  

Mr. Cox has been teaching for over 28 years, 20 of which he has been teaching ceramics. Mr. Cox started at McLane and then moved over to Bullard in 1998. The biggest thing students take away when they leave is a better understanding of the arts and the various components of ceramics. As former students of Mr. Cox’s ceramics class, we enjoyed the freedom of the class, the variety of projects to work on, creating with clay, firing, and glazing your piece.  

You may ask how you fire a piece or what the steps to do so are. This is where a “kiln” comes in. This is a device that fires stoneware clay at 2110 degrees Fahrenheit. Whatever you create will last lifetimes! You may be wondering what the process is like. It is not as simple as you may think it is. First, you must capture something from your mind and put it down on paper. Then, you do an “Art Critique Worksheet” to process your ideas. After that, you shape your clay to whatever your imagination desires. When finished perfecting your piece, you let it dry out for a couple of days. Put it in the kiln, then after two days you take it out and glaze it. Now you refire it to take it to the final stage of creation. If you are interested in seeing amazing works of art done by former students, take a look at the display cases at the top of the Southwest Building. 

 There are two different ceramics classes available when registering for classes.  Ceramics I is all about technique, terminology, and language. Ceramics II on the other hand is all about the technique you like to use and the history of ceramics. If you’re ever interested in making functional pottery such as, bowls, vases, and glasses while learning about the various artistic techniques to do so, an elective in Ceramics may be for you!