Most are not aware of the AP Ceramics course offered at CHS. Even less are aware that there are more AP Ceramics students this year than ever before in the history of CHS. Quite intriguing is the fact this record number amounts to a class size of five students. The enrolled seniors include: Mandy Perea, Yvette Cordero, Ethan Avrigean, Helene Thomas, and Tamar Landman. Driven by their love of art, these individuals have put in a lot of hard work and dedication into this class.

“Personally, I love the ceramics program because the way it’s structured allows for introduction into the medium, and then it allows the student to explore what they like in terms of form, size, and style,” Thomas said. “AP Ceramics takes this to a whole new level because the student is able to really find their own style, which is a lot of what I’ve done across the past two years.”

Through AP Ceramics, the students have all matured into their own individual styles that mark them as developing artists. This includes the requirement for each student to develop a concentration for the year to use as a focus and growing point in their work, that can be displayed through their portfolio. Avrigean, for instance, specializes in hyperrealism with a special attention to detail, including his pseudo-bust that was half-skeleton and half-human as an example. Not only do they develop their own styles, some even have constructed deeper meanings behind their works. Cordero’s art focuses on abstract sculptures often with gems or jewels on the piece.

“The crystals represent a mental illness, how it can be in a person but it can never really define a person,” Cordero said.

Since the first cat skull she sculpted freshman year, Perea has made skulls her main focus for her final year of high school ceramics. She adds a dash of life to each of her animal (never human) skulls by adding an alive component, such as a porcupine skull with an eye in it or a beaver with hair on it.

“Basically my statement is that, humans see life and death as something that they want to wrap up in a little bow and define very easily. When in reality, it can be gross and repulsive, and it is not always the way we want to see it as and so my concentration is basically just exploring how we view death as mammals and how that it is not really the reality of it, ” Perea said.

Following these two artists, there is Thomas, who has also added her own unique twist of interpretation to every piece. Thomas’ art is realistic with a heavy reliance on textures and nature, having a ‘wooden’ appearance due to the glaze and types of clay.

“In short, my general concentration is the effect of animals on humans and the effect of humans on animals,” Thomas said. “My early pieces have small cities on the animals to show how both humans and animals have adapted and learned to fit in, but my latest pieces are just animals because it shows how animals don’t need humans for the most part.”

There are so few AP Ceramics students for a simple reason; people are not prepared. The students point out that many people expect the class to be easy, simply because it is an art class, but are then surprised to learn that the class is actually taken seriously.

“Most students choose not to enroll in AP Ceramics because they are afraid that their own ideas and portfolio [will not be up to par],” Landman said. “[Personally], I look to my peers and get inspired by their passion and creativity to make better pieces and learn new skills.”

Art teacher Anne Mumper has proven her dedication to her class and her students time and time again as her returning AP students have come to know. She takes her art classes seriously with a devotion that surprises students who expect an easy A.

“People just want to draw or just want to take art to get it out of the way, but it’s such a niche for the art world that it’s so odd to me since Claremont is ceramic capital of the world,” Avrigean said.

AP Ceramics is a unique class with unique people. There, one is able to develop their own artistic style and expand their creative horizons. Students Perea, Cordero, Avrigean, Thomas, and Landman have all already made CHS history by being the largest ever AP Ceramics class. Enjoying the work is an essential part to this challenging creative process and these five were able to prove that they have just what it takes to accomplish and thrive in this environment, perhaps inspiring others to start or continue with ceramics in the future.