Ceramics, the class where you get your hands and clothes covered in clay. Sewing, the class where you stitch to your heart’s desire.

Ms. Alexandra Heyl, one of the ceramics teachers at OHS, has given her 6th and 8th block classes an opportunity to show their creativity. As part of their final grades for her class, the students have to sketch, carve, and mold their very own clay objects to be fired, glazed, and fired again, forever turning them into ceramic pieces of art.

“I wanted to give the students a chance to work on their own,” said Heyl. “Ceramics II is mostly independent work and giving them this opportunity to do this project helps prepare them for that.”

From custom designed coffee mugs to monstrous vases, all the way to ceramic shoes, the creations are endless and forever. Their purposes ranging from gifts all the way to fully functional decorations for the average home.

“Since I’ve learned so many ways to make mugs,” said Hannah Jokuti (12), “I wanted to see if I could make my own.”

Across the school, Mrs. Jamie Daughaday, the sewing teacher, has allowed her sewing classes the chance to create their own sewn objects. Whether it be a pillow, or even a stuffed animal, these students went above and beyond to find their dream projects.

“The idea behind the choice project is based off how students ranked themselves as far as ability level goes. The project should reflect where they believe they fall on the ranking system now,” said Daughaday. “This allows for students to still challenge themselves and feel successful. I don’t believe it would be fair to require a final project that would be too hard or too easy.”

Using Do It Yourself (DIY) sites to their advantage, students were able to find the projects they thought would be both easy and enjoyable to create.

“I chose a chapstick cozy because I thought it would be easy and interesting for me to make,” Taylor Jundt (9) said. “Especially with the short time I have to complete this project.”