In a quiet corner of Farmington High School (FHS), surrounded by soft light and the gentle hum of pottery wheels, students in the ceramics room are doing more than just crafting clay — they are creating a space to think, breathe and be.
The FHS ceramics class is rooted in motion, texture, and patience. Here, students don’t just learn how to shape clay; they discover how to work with their hands, make peace with mistakes, and find calm in the process.
“Something is grounding about it,” said Ms. Reiser, the ceramics teacher. “Students come in carrying the noise of the day, and once they sit down and start working, things slow down.”
The classroom reflects the art’s spirit: shelves filled with drying sculptures and mugs, tools lined up beside jars of glaze, and student names etched into the bottoms of unfired bowls. It’s a space that holds both effort and individuality in equal measure
That rhythm — the wedging, the wheel, the glazing, and the firing — becomes familiar. Some students find comfort in its structure, while others use it as a blank canvas for experimentation, like Senior AJ Pazmino, currently taking Ceramics II.
“[It requires] a different kind of focus — not about grades or deadlines, but about figuring out what feels right in your hands,” Pazmino reflects.
Her most recent piece, a ceramic teapot with uneven, organic curves, wasn’t part of any assignment.
“I was thinking about how nothing in nature is perfectly symmetrical,” Pazmino explained.“So why should my art be?”
Each student has their reason for being there. For some, ceramics provides a break from academic pressure. For others, it’s the first time they’ve felt successful in a creative space. And for many, it’s simply an hour in the day where things feel real and quiet.
There are challenges, too — when clay collapses mid-building or when weeks of work are shattered in the kiln. But Reiser emphasizes that every crack and every failure is part of the learning process.
“You learn resilience,” Reiser reflects. ”You learn to let go of perfection.”
