Surrounded by paintings and other ceramic projects, Senior Chantal Tan meticulously sculpts the figure of her vase as beads of sweat trickle down her neck. A wide grin spreads across her face as Ms. Mihee Kim places her completed work in the kiln.
Prior to taking ceramics, C. Tan was introduced to the world of pottery by her sister, Senior Megan Tan, citing her as an inspiration to taking the class. C. Tan currently has two completed projects from the class and five pots in total, which are currently on display in her family’s home.
C. Tan expresses herself through ceramics using three-dimensional models and sketches. Aside from using the clay for school assignments, C. Tan also utilizes the clay to sculpt her freelance ideas, such as animal faces and fruits.
“I discovered my passion for it as I realized I could shape my project into anything I wanted,” C. Tan said. “I also like the 3D aspect of the medium, and the fact that I can’t really access clay at home makes me appreciate the medium more.”
C. Tan also has another project in the works, a vase, and is currently trying to perfect it as a gift for her family. The vase includes symbols representing her family as well as herself, making it a unique piece.
“When I create any of my ceramic pieces, I don’t think too much about how others will view the final product,” C. Tan said. “I just try to make my work so that it can fulfill my own vision, and if people like how it turns out, that’s just an added bonus. Hopefully others may find it fun to look at or inspire them to add a certain feature on their own pieces.”
Aside from C. Tan, M. Tan also creates art on a different scale, which is creating screen printed stickers. She began creating her stickers for an assignment, but later, that assignment grew into an interest.
Graphics teacher Ms. Lisa Kidd encourages her students to create as many stickers as they can and does not require them to pay for materials, no matter how many stickers they make.
“I knew some people who took the graphics class, and it seemed really fun,” M. Tan said. “I mainly took it to screen print stickers and shirts. Everything is built in the classroom, but we can always work on designs outside of the class too.”
Throughout the first semester, M. Tan made stickers and sold them to friends and family. She printed multiple designs from her favorite cartoons, animals and characters from the Korean messaging app, KakaoTalk.
“First, I choose an image of something that I want to make into a sticker. Then, I do one of two things: either save that image and using the pen tool on Illustrator, I trace an outline of that image, or I ‘Image Trace’ that image,” M. Tan said. “The final thing to do after making the stickers is to heat them up under a certain machine and then cut the stickers out!”
Now in the second semester, M. Tan finds joy in making her stickers and looks forward to the rest of the projects the graphics class has to offer.
“My goal in this semester is to create shirts, pins and more stickers in my own designs,” M. Tan said. “I really love making stickers and seeing others’ happy faces when they receive my stickers. And I feel happy when I see my stickers on people’s water bottles or laptops.”
TCHS School Newspaper