Image from author.
As the Holiday Season approaches, the WHS ceramic program is preparing for its highly anticipated Winter sale. Led by our ceramics teacher Mr. Rodenkirk, the sale is an opportunity for students to express their creative and artistic abilities to the community.
Ceramics teacher Mr. Rodenkirk shared some details about this year’s sale. “The ceramics club is making Christmas trees as we’ve done in past years that you can put candles underneath,” he says. “And then I’ve got all these cups—we’re making hundreds of cups—to raise money for [the class].” All the money from the sale will be reinvested into the classroom, with the goal to buy a new gas kiln. This gas kiln will make student’s projects significantly “pop” more, giving them unique color variations and surface qualities that are difficult or near impossible to replicate in an electric kiln. Unlike the current electric kilns, this one will use natural gas. “It’s more efficient, needs less maintenance, and can reach higher temperatures,” Mr. Rodenkirk explained. “It also lets you control how much oxygen is inside, which changes the colors and finishes on the glazes and clay.”
To help make enough cups for the sale, Mr. Rodenkirk asked his students to attach handles to over 500 cups he had already made. “I make videos showing how to attach handles and glaze pieces, so students can learn and work together,” he said. “Not every student loves doing it, but about 40 or 50 kids are really good at it. Many hands make light work.”
Students like WHS Junior Aiden Ortiz played a big role in preparing for the sale. “I think we did pretty good because Mr. Rodenkirk went through how to put on handles very thoroughly, and we all did as a class,” Aiden shared. He explained that an Edpuzzle video, which Mr R. forced everyone to watch and score 100% on, helped them improve their skills. He also mentioned that if even one student didn’t watch it and score a 100%, the use of clay was off limits. Aiden is especially excited to see the sheer number of cups they’ve all made, as well as the festive ceramic Christmas trees made by the ceramics club. Aiden even added extra time after school to clean, sand, and glaze cups, adding, “I made a lot of cups, so I’m going to be excited to see how they turned out.”
The sale will include these cups and other ceramics, showing the hard work and creativity of the WHS ceramics program. Whether you’re looking for a unique gift or want to support local art, the Ceramic Winter Sale has something for everyone.
This isn’t the only chance to support the WHS ceramic program. Mr Rodenkirk explained that they are planning another sale right before spring break, just in time for mothers day. “We’re going to do the same thing again, with the majority of the cups getting ready for that sale,” he said. These events give the community more chances to enjoy and support the students’ work throughout the rest of the year.
Be sure to check out the sale before winter break and pick up a special holiday gift while also supporting Washington High School’s artists. It’ll take place in the ceramics classroom, room 68, on the last 3 days of finals week.
Lukas Lyssand is a junior at Washington High School. He was born and raised in Redwood city for 5 years and moved to Fremont in 2013. This is Lukas’ first year on the paper. He’s interested in writing about music, nature and sports. His favorite hobbies are skateboarding, playing the drums and guitar, exploring nature and listening to music. His future plans are to graduate highschool and go to a good college, but he doesn’t know what he wants to major in just yet.