{"id":2317744,"date":"2026-03-08T00:35:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T00:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2317744"},"modified":"2026-03-08T00:35:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T00:35:31","slug":"the-significance-of-pottery-to-the-mvhs-community-el-estoque","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/the-significance-of-pottery-to-the-mvhs-community-el-estoque\/","title":{"rendered":"The significance of pottery to the MVHS community \u2013 El Estoque"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Pieces of wet clay splatter across sophomore Caleb Chacko\u2019s blue apron as he begins to shape his next project on the potter\u2019s wheel. Instead of creating a traditional bowl as he has in the past, Chacko experiments with new bowl styles, deliberately thinning out the clay as he reaches its rim, leaving the base thicker than usual. As a newcomer to pottery who has created six pieces so far, Chacko asserts that one of the most rewarding parts is getting to use the finished pieces.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re eating out of your bowl, I really like thinking that, \u2018Oh, I made this,\u2019 and it\u2019s your work that you put into it,\u201d Chacko said. \u201cI really like the fact that I\u2019ll have stuff of my own that I can keep for a long time and that it holds memories of the people in the class and the people that I know from school.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ceramics teacher David Bigelman and sophomore Caleb Chacko empty out clay into a large bucket. Photo | Sana Karkhanis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3D Sculpture and Design teacher David Bigelman explains that, as someone who\u2019s been making pottery for over 30 years, he only finds the most technically challenging and well-made pieces worth keeping. For the other dozens of pieces that he\u2019s made, Bigelman usually gifts them to his friends and family. Chacko also gifts his pottery, finding ways to repurpose pieces that didn\u2019t turn out the way he intended in terms of function. His most recent piece, for example,\u00a0 was supposed to be a Nara Smith bowl: a chunky ceramic dish associated with content creator Nara Smith. However, the piece didn\u2019t turn out the way Chacko wanted: it was too small and he didn\u2019t like the color of its glaze. So instead, he gifted the bowl to his mother for her to store her jewelry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Freshman Gabriella Avendano Pineda delicately builds a small figurine out of clay and newspaper, one of the many projects Ceramics students work on over the course of the year. Photo | Sana Karkhanis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Junior Meyra Olcay, who has been enrolled in pottery classes at MV for the last three years, also recognizes the fragile and unpredictable nature of the craft. Olcay says that the first thing she was taught is how to remain unattached from pieces she creates by deliberately destroying some of her very first pots. According to Olcay, she kept this lesson in mind as she continued to create more pottery pieces, as glaze may not dry as intended and sometimes, pieces can break from being in the kiln or from accidental drops. Despite planning out pieces before using the clay, Olcay explains that the three-dimensionality of pottery poses a unique barrier in visualizing a piece before it\u2019s finished.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can only understand so much from drawing it on a piece of paper and imagining it,\u201d Olcay said. \u201cBut when it comes to life, and you get to see it on your desk and on your shelf, it\u2019s kind of cool. You can\u2019t know how the pot is going to look before it\u2019s out of the kiln and it\u2019s pretty rewarding to see it work.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sophomore Medhavi Modi scans the supply table in the center of the ceramics room for the equipment necessary to construct her piece. Photo | Sana Karkhanis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although Olcay and Chacko have both adapted to the unpredictability of the wheel, both recognize the intense learning curve they needed to overcome. Chacko emphasizes patience, saying that rushing in both learning and practice will result in an inability to grasp the fundamentals of pottery. Olcay shares a similar experience, explaining the frantic experience of getting comfortable with the equipment.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe learning curve was chaotic because when you\u2019re throwing, there\u2019s a lot of room for error,\u201d Olcay said. \u201cDuring the first attempts at making even a tiny little bowl, my lump of clay would fly off the wheel and I would get water all over me. There was a lot going on and it was a little hectic, but when the clay got in its place, it was fun.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Bigelman explains that teaching students and helping them overcome the learning curve is fulfilling. He says that even though focusing on students doesn\u2019t leave much time for him to make pieces recreationally, watching students hone their skills is a worthwhile trade-off.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Bigelman demonstrates how to create a color wheel to his class while Chacko carefully watches. Photo | Sana Karkhanis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fun to go through the steps with them,\u201d Bigelman said. \u201cYou just break it down, and then you try to show students how to do it. Then, when they can do it, that\u2019s when you feel like, \u2018OK, they got it,\u2019 and that\u2019s what you need. That\u2019s where the satisfaction comes in seeing them accomplish it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Bigelman adds that a major challenge when learning pottery, aside from using the wheel itself, is familiarizing oneself with using both hands to help shape the clay. Bigelman says that he pays specific attention to his students\u2019 ability to do so, as he says that people tend to not use both hands for a task until they are forced to, and it takes a while for them to get used to it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to both Chacko and Olcay, despite the intense learning curve, pottery serves as a calming and therapeutic activity. Chacko explains that interacting with the clay is soothing due to its soft and slippery texture. Olcay agrees, adding that the slick texture of the clay and spin of the wheel is a much-needed break from the stress of junior year.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPottery is a really good break from the academic stress, especially at our school,\u201d Olcay said. \u201cIt\u2019s very therapeutic. There\u2019s a lot of textures going on, and it\u2019s so mesmerizing seeing something turn out perfectly. When you put your finger on the clay it makes little swirls \u2014 it\u2019s really mesmerizing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Chacko works on his color wheel during class, mixing black and white to create gray. Photo | Sana Karkhanis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bigelman agrees, explaining that his love for pottery grew gradually as he gained experience. He says that after dedicating more time to the craft, he decided to pursue a career in teaching pottery due to the calming nature of the clay.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen using both of your hands, you feel the flow of the clay and the spin,\u201d Bigelman said. \u201cIt\u2019s very meditative and calming with the clay spinning around. There\u2019s your connection to the earth in this material, so there\u2019s a soothing factor to the way it\u2019s all coming together.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source elestoque.org \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pieces of wet clay splatter across sophomore Caleb Chacko\u2019s blue apron as he begins to shape his next project on the potter\u2019s wheel. Instead of creating a traditional bowl as he has in the past, Chacko experiments with new bowl styles, deliberately thinning out the clay as he reaches its rim, leaving the base thicker […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2317745,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2317744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/The-significance-of-pottery-to-the-MVHS-community-\u2013-El.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2317744"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317744\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2317746,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317744\/revisions\/2317746"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2317745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2317744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2317744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2317744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}