By ELISE RIO
Staff Writer
The Artist of the Month for March is ceramics student AuCo Le (Sr.), nominated by Ms. Tiffany Huff (Visual and Performing Arts Dept.). Le started ceramics as a junior in high school, and now enjoys spending most of her day at school in the art studio. Ms. Huff said that Le “often comes in during both her free periods and lunch to help load the kiln, clean up other student’s glaze ware, and has been learning so much more because she hangs around in her free time. Exemplary students like AuCo pave the way for future excellence.”
When asked about her experience in ceramics, Le said, “Some students daydream in class. I, on the other hand, dream about how I would construct my current project the next time I’m in the ceramics classroom.” She appreciates that art has become a way for her to escape stress and is a breath of fresh air from her academic courses.
Le emphasized that ceramics has been more than just a creative outlet for her. In ceramics, Le has applied skills including geometry and critical thinking to plan out her projects. To her, ceramics is more than just doing something random and hoping it works out; she uses a methodical process of thinking to plan in advance what she wants to create. Ms. Huff described Le’s thirst for knowledge as one of her best qualities and said that it was her way of constantly pushing for better techniques and seeking “deeper understandings of the myriad of materials available.” Ms. Huff added that Le’s focus and discipline have helped her progress significantly in the class and make her a role model for other students.
Le’s favorite part of creating ceramic projects is not the sculpting itself, but creating the final adjustments when she goes “the extra mile to make sure everything is as perfect and exactly” as she wants. In addition, Le loves the direct contact that she has with her work. She explained that she loves working with her hands because “art is a form of expression through the body, but a lot of visual arts are created using tools such as paintbrushes, charcoal, and digital tablets. Ceramics is an opportunity to transfer your creative energy directly onto your work. There’s no middle man, it’s just you and the clay.”
Le would like to continue pursuing art by taking a ceramics class at college. She highly recommends anyone who wants to try the arts to talk to the art teachers at University High School (UHS) who “want nothing more than to cultivate a growing interest and thirst for knowledge of the arts within their students.”