This past month, Pascack Valley High School’s ceramics classes have been facing many challenges stemming from a kiln that broke in December.
“I pushed the wrong button on the kiln, and it fired to the temperature that wasn’t desirable for this clay body,” said Jessica Miranda, Pascack Valley Ceramics Teacher.
Due to overheating, many ceramic pieces melded to the kiln, making it unusable.
As a result of the broken kiln, the eight ceramics classes of Art Teachers Miranda and Stephanie DiGiacopo have been unable to perform much clay work, and many students’ projects have been lost.
In the meantime, Miranda’s and DiGiacopo’s beginner classes are avoiding clay by working on a chipboard project, using cardboard and glue to create designs that the students choose. Miranda’s honors class is doing minor clay work, while mainly focusing on painting and preparation for future projects.
According to Miranda, the kiln should be fixed by the end of January. Although the ceramics classes have adjusted, their productivity has definitely lessened due to their inability to finish their projects without the kiln.
“I think the worst part [about the kiln breaking] is that it did hurt people’s motivation to get their work done,” Miranda said.
Another drawback to the broken kiln was that many people were not able to finish their projects by Christmas break. Along with the students not being able to finish their work, many students’ ceramic pieces were destroyed along with the kiln.
“It was also hard telling 160 students that their work isn’t going to be ready for a long time, especially since so many students had made gifts for the holidays,” Miranda said.
Despite this difficult situation in the ceramics classes, there are some positive aspects to consider.
For instance, the students can take the time to paint their pieces with much more detail, which they might not have had time for if the kiln hadn’t broken. Additionally, students are able to take the time to explore and create art that doesn’t involve clay.
Overall, many students and staff find it unfortunate that the kiln broke; however, Miranda and DiGiacopo have successfully kept their students actively working on interesting projects. Even with so little time to plan, they have created many projects that their students have been engaged in.
If everything goes according to schedule, classes should return to normal by the end of January, and all of the students will be able to receive their finished projects within the next month.
