ART 242 - Advanced Ceramics

Prerequisite: ART 141
Transfers to: UC, CSU

This is an advanced course in ceramics, open to all art and non-art majors. This class places a special emphasis on personal growth and aesthetics as well as increased proficiency on the potter’s wheel. Students will explore the concepts of management and expressive exploration of the unique characteristics of fired ceramics – both the opportunities and constraints presented in the processing of clay from a soft, plastic, fragile, impermanent substance into a hard, rigid, and completely metamorphosed material after drying and firing. It is a process that requires sensitivity to time and sequence, and demands critical informed technical management. An important aspect of the class will be having students evaluate their selection of type of clay, decorative techniques and final-firing process to achieve their desired finished results. Included in this course will be advanced problems-solving in forms, shapes, decorative techniques and glazing.