CC Noriega-Palomera

Fresa
During pottery, we were assigned to sculpt cookie jars. My thought process stemmed from the idea that milk goes well with cookies and that I prefer strawberry milk. The choice was a carton of milk or a strawberry. The thought of a ceramic strawberry was very interesting to me and I persevered through the challenges. It was challenging to smooth out the coils, especially when I was changing the shape of the vessel, for example, widening it out or coming back in. A big part of making my cookie jar was just trusting the process. There were times when I wanted to throw out the jar and start over but with the due date closing in, I continued working. When I started glazing I realized it would come out better than I thought. It helped add the small details, like the grooves on the leaves and each individual seed. In the end, my feelings toward the cookie jar changed completely because putting in the extra work paid off. 

Cherry Bomb
My Cherry Bomb mask was inspired by a character from one of my favorite albums, “Cherry Bomb” by Tyler The Creator. The face was interesting with all of the wrinkles that I had to add on. The cartoonish features were something I worked really hard on. Overall it was a quick and fun free-choice project to end my semester.
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CC Noriega is in the 10th grade at BHS, living in Basalt her whole life. She’s always felt connected to art, as a way of expression and communication. Art to her has always felt like a portal to creatively express herself in a visual way abundant with emotion. She enjoys other creative ideas like music, journaling and exploring style. CC continued pursuing art throughout classes in middle school and starting high school with Art 1, Pottery and Sculpture, and now Painting and Drawing. Exploring new materials helps her manipulate her art and better control how she conveys art. While most people CC knows see art as little doodles and nothing serious, she has opened her eyes to many opportunities and experiences. Ms. Statzer, an art teacher at BHS also supported and pushed CC to put in 100% effort into a piece and to give it her all, guiding her closer with her connection to art.

Emma Narby

Aphrodite
This project is my favorite so far even though it is just my second. I love art about the human body, especially the women's body because I believe that it is very beautiful. I went through a lot of processes while making this project. I first made a body that I ended up thinking was too small for the amount of detail I wanted with the fabric. I also wanted the fabric to hang off of the body but it ended up being something that I didn't like. Throughout making this project I really had to pay attention to the build of the women's body. The body parts were very hard to get right and I wanted them to be good even though they were being covered with fabric. The fabric was so hard to do as well, there were a lot of details that I wanted to include in the fabric to make it as realistic as possible. I struggled most with the fabric and getting the body to be as realistic as I could make it. I really do love how the body turned out though, it was just how I wanted it to look. I ended up keeping it simple with the glaze because I wanted it to be minimal but still beautiful. Out of all of my projects made in high school, this one is definitely my favorite now.
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Emma Narby is a senior artist at Basalt High School. She was born in Aspen, Colorado, and was raised in Basalt her whole life. She continues to make art for the rest of her Senior year. She mostly works with Clay and would stick to only ceramics if she could. Emma aspires to attend California for college and major in Business and Marketing.

Lilu Illouz

Je suis exposé
“Je suis exposé” translated from French is “I am exposed.” The idea for this came to me on my very first day of pottery and sculpture when we were given our assignments and I was very determined to make it. It turned out almost exactly as I imagined it and was a very tedious project. I started by throwing a large “bowl” on the wheel and when that was finished I had to make another exactly the same, then I flipped one on top of the other and fixed them together to make one piece. I quickly threw a small cylinder to make the neck of the vase and shaped that into the other piece. During all this, I sculpted the heart by hand. The hardest part was making the hole, which I did by flattening the sides and pushing them together into the middle, and cutting out a piece big enough for my heart all while keeping a vase-like shape. Having the heart suspended in the center was the most important part to me and it took some time to figure out how to make that happen. It took a lot of practice on the pottery wheel, lots of failed attempts, and it was a frustrating process but in the end, it was one of my favorite pieces I've ever made. My art tends to be very symbolic and meaningful and is meant to be viewed with a deeper meaning. To me, this piece symbolizes life as an adolescent, growing up in an environment that is new and challenging but having to open the most beautiful part of you to the world and risk being hurt and having the hope of being accepted, but it is open to different interpretations.

Always on my mind
This piece was a free project that I made during the last few days of my pottery and sculpture class. This idea came to me from a quote I saw online and I wanted to experiment with the new glazes we got in the art room. There were a lot of new techniques I used on this project and it was meant only for me to practice and experiment, but it turned into something with meaning and something that a lot of people can relate to. It was the first time I had to hollow out and reconnect a piece of clay and have it end up looking like how I imagined it as well as make it safe to put into the kiln. It was also my first time using an extruder to make the line shapes on the brain as well as using epoxy to attach the people into their positions as well as glaze attaching some of them. Experimenting with the new glazes was fun and also disappointing because we had a new glaze that was supposed to turn gold but stayed black because it needed to be fired at a higher temperature. In the end, it was a very enjoyable process and I also learned a lot.
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Lilu Illouz is a Sophomore at Basalt high school. She was born and raised in Basalt Colorado with her two siblings. She has loved art her whole life and has used her creative abilities to express herself. She has been fascinated by ceramics since fourth grade because it is easier for her to express her ideas in 3D form and enjoys the process of using her hands to manipulate the material to replicate the image in her mind.

Macy Scherer

Ready for the Slopes
This project was inspired by my love for skiing and working with clay. I did a skier because I am at my happiest when I am on the chair lift while skiing. Seeing the snow around me and below me is very peaceful for me because I am able to be in the moment and forget about my struggles for the time being. It also represents my love for where we live. I am so grateful to live so close to the mountain. The outdoors truly makes me so much happier, as does clay. I chose this specific project because I wanted to challenge myself and work with a small amount of clay. I worked hard to make it detailed while working with the clay, and I really tried to make the glaze look smooth and I tried not to mix the colors. My other clay projects have been much larger and less detailed so I wanted to get to the next level. I used many different techniques in this project. I used slabs to make the skis and chair lift, and coils for the poles and lining on the jacket and boots. The jacket and face required lots of time to make them as detailed as they are. I struggled with the size of some of the pieces because of how small they were. It was hard to make them intricate when it was so easy to snap them in half, but I was able to be patient and pushed through. I had to make nine different parts for this project and each had to be individually glazed and attached. Though this project took time and precision, I am proud of the way it turned out and hope to continue making as detailed projects as this one. 

What Goes On Upstairs
This project was inspired by the emotions that go on inside of someone's head. I really wanted to do a large piece but also use smaller figures to challenge my detailed work. I made the head figure first with coils and created a bowl-like shape at the top. I then created the brain by carving out an oval shape and placing coils on top of it to make it look like a brain. Lastly, I created the little people and attached them to the brain and one to the side of the head. The blue person bent over is supposed to represent the sad and negative emotions people feel, and is positioned bent over to represent how small you feel when you are upset. The orange figure reading a book represents curiosity. For me, I love to learn and stay curious. This could represent other things for other people too, such as peace and comfort. The yellow figure doing a cartwheel represents the joy people feel and the childish nature that comes out when being silly. Lastly, the purple figure represents how sometimes it feels like you are just barely holding on and are about to fall apart. The purple represents the fear of losing yourself people can have when they feel themselves slipping away. If I had more time during this project I would have put more detail into the head and little people on top, but I am proud of the work I finished in the small amount of time I had. 
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Macy Scherer is a senior at Basalt High school. She enjoys being outside and staying active, reading, and music. Her favorite things inspire her in many of her art pieces. She likes to make art incorporated with ideas that are closely related to her life and show who she is. Her favorite types of art to create are sculptures and black-and-white drawings. She likes to create art with lots of meaning but also enjoys creating art just for fun. She will be attending Colorado College in the fall of 2023 and will be majoring in psychology. She hopes to join the CC Clay Club in college.

Natalie Fryer

Temporary Climate (Blue and Brown Vase)
I began this art piece originally thinking that it would be entirely built on the pottery wheel in 3-4 separate pieces.  I began on the potter's wheel and built the bottom circular area that worked as the base for my vase. Because of time limitations and not having many art classes left I decided to build the rest of it with coils at home.  This method worked well because I was able to easily make the curves how I wanted pretty quickly.  After the body of the vase was finished I then decided to add vines coming out of the top but they ended up looking more like handles. After firing it I followed the colors I originally planned, specifically blue and brown potters choice glaze.  This vase was mainly inspired by the blue sky, whether that be at night or during the day, and the look of trees in the winter.  Even though they don’t have green leaves or much life, they can still be seen as beautiful.  Winter is a time that I usually struggle with because of the lack of nature and warm days, so with this project, I wanted to look differently at the nature around me.  And instead of viewing it in a negative way, look at it in a way that can still be seen as beautiful
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As a high school senior born and raised in Colorado, Natalie has always felt a deep connection to the natural world around them.  It is this connection and a love for art that has inspired her to create unique sculptures that explore the relationship between the human figure and the environment. As she grew older, Natalies travels to South Korea and New Zealand took her further afield, where the country’s art and culture deeply inspired her. These experiences left a profound impression on Natalie, and she continues to draw on them for inspiration in her work. Her sculptures reflect the beauty and complexity of both the natural world and human beings, often with an emphasis on the connection between the two.

Paola Cruz Andrade 

Free the End 
This piece was not as easy as I imagined it would be to make. It took a lot of work to measure the clay and make sure it was the right size. This was my first time making box shapes out of clay and by the end of it I was really surprised with the outcome.This piece was based on a video game I enjoy playing: Minecraft. An important message is delivered when you get to the end and kill the dragon, the game also gives the player the dragon head and a dragon egg. The dragon’s head represents the achievement of freeing the end and the egg represents a new beginning. I wanted to do this because for me it represents a new stage of life. I wanted to have this head to represent the end of an era and the start of a new one. In a way, it represents how much closer I’m getting to adulthood and leaving behind my childhood. But as Minecraft taught me: the end it's just a new beginning. 

The Hungry Frog 
This frog was another of the projects I made based on childhood. I choose a frog to represent the goals people have and how we leap through life accomplishing them (or trying to). I made a plan on how to make the frog and followed it. In the process of making the body, I wanted to change my project but decided to keep my original idea. The tongue was a last-minute idea and a good one. I feel like it adds personality to my frog and every time I put something in it I know my frog feels happy to be eating. This frog reminds me of my younger self playing in the rain and finding frogs around the trees. 
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Paola Cruz Andrade is a junior at Basalt High School. She just moved to Colorado this past year from Orange County, California. She previously worked with graphic design in her freshman year, but had taken a break. This is her first year taking sculpture and ceramics. Her art is based on things that bring her joy and make her and others better people. Paola enjoys creating art that brings happiness to people. She wants people to first see her art and remind them of their childhood. Paola’s art is made to help people believe in themselves by being reminded of their younger self.

Samantha Cervantes  

Abyss 
This piece of art began with many different brainstorms which led to the mixing of brainstorms. My first idea was a mask that was ripped open right in the face, but something about it made me feel like it wasn't enough. I began thinking about what I should put in the open space which then led to the idea of octopus tentacles. As I began making the mask I realized that the tentacles were not sitting right with me, I felt as if it was plain and in a way “boring”. Not long after I decided this mask needed a whole octopus head and some other sea pieces. This mask was one of the most time-consuming art pieces I've made. Although I felt as if I was never going to finish I kept pushing doing my best to make everything look right. The hardest part of this project was making every single suction cup on the tentacle to make it more realistic. Overall I enjoyed creating this piece of art as it taught me to be more patient due to the fact that I had to let a lot of things dry before I could add to it, and all the details beyond that point.

Bloom
Bloom was based on a positive mindset. Although it began as a rocky road I pushed through it and made an art piece that I'm extremely happy with. At the beginning of this piece, I created something that looked like a boxed, round, skull (not cute). Very soon after that we fixed it and created what I have now. As I was continuing to think about a positive mindset, I just knew I had to add a brain. I made sure to make it small enough so the viewers could see it right through the nose. Overall it was a learning experience as it was one of my very first clay art pieces. This was also a challenging art piece because it was all made with coils. After the whole structure of this art piece, I decided to paint some positive quotes all around it as well as some flowers as it is a “blooming” art piece. This piece is important to me because the positive quotes represent how this positivity is in a way feeding into the brain.  Overall I am proud of the final outcome. 
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Samantha is currently a Junior at Basalt High School. She has lived in the valley for 17 years. Samantha's works in both ceramics and painting inspire the viewer to feel different emotions including the ones they try to avoid. Samantha’s work can be personal and distinctive at times. She is interested in topics related to mental health and socioemotional well-being because she feels as if people struggle to acknowledge that it’s okay to not be okay. Making art about these topics brings attention to the heightened emotional well-being of humans post-pandemic. Samantha makes pieces of art in which she expresses her own mental health ups and downs to allow herself to process them through her artmaking.

Taylin Beckman 

Mike
Growing up I watched Monsters Inc. frequently and Mike was always my favorite character. I did not have very much time to make this piece so I had to work on it during lunch and after school, because I was determined to make it exactly as I wanted it to look. I tried to do the arms multiple times and decided simpler was better. I wasn't sure the color would turn out exactly as I wanted but I was very happy when it came out of the kiln. I cut out a slab of clay and let it rest on some newspaper to become sloped. I then attached the mouth, teeth, eyes, and arms, and made the legs to later attach them. I was hoping I would be able to stand Mike on his feet however I realized his feet were too small to hold up the heavy body. I had many successes and failures throughout this project and so I was delighted when I finished in time before the end of the semester.

Pumpkin 
In the fall we started coil projects as a class in pottery. Halloween was coming up so I was thinking of making a jack-o-lantern, but by the time I had gotten a decent amount through Halloween had already passed so I decided to make a pumpkin in the spirit of fall and upcoming thanksgiving. When building the pumpkin, I would often make the coils too wet or too dry and have to wait a little while before I could keep building. I was building the coils very wide and had to take them in a bit then construct a full lid in which one of my stems fell off. I had been hoping to give this “cookie jar” to my parents as a gift over thanksgiving but by the time it was glazed and fired it was far after then. This piece may look simple but was much more time-consuming than you may imagine. I like the simplicity of the jar and how thorough the color is. When on the throwing wheel I made two mugs also going along the theme of fall so when thinking of an idea a pumpkin just seemed right to me as it fit the theme of my mugs and the beautiful colors outside in this time period.
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Taylin Beckman is a Sophomore at Basalt high school. She was born and raised around the Roaring Fork Valley with her older brother and family. Throughout Taylins 16 years in Colorado she has played soccer and basketball and been intrigued by drawing and sculpture, she has spent much of her time camping and boating outdoors. Taylin has always strived for the best and been an ambitious thinker, so when put to a task she completes it to the best of her abilities. She loves to manipulate things from the world around her in ways that show meaning and express her as a person through her artwork. Taylin has always seen art as a way to put fun ideas out into the world so when she is given opportunities with clay and other materials she loves to see what she can do.

Taylor Anthes

Diamond T
When I asked my dad what his favorite kind of car was I was pretty sure I knew the answer. A 1942 Diamond T, (the 1969 Road Runner is a close second). While cars may just be a material item, to my father and I, they mean more than that. Besides the fact that a Diamond T is generally just a really cool truck, it has become a connection I share with both my dad and my brother.  My whole life, old, classic cars have always been something my dad loves to see and talk about, I can't count the number of times we’ve been driving and my dad excitedly starts talking about some really cool old car that he saw. For whatever reason, the vehicles mean a lot to him, so even if I can't buy him his own 1942 Diamond T, I can still make one. I find a lot of joy in being able to include things and people I love in my art, whether it's making something that means a lot to me, or making something for someone that means a lot to me. This project was a great way for me to do both, being able to make something for my dad, and at the same time creating something that really meant a lot to me, apart from being a cool truck. 

Porcelain Doll
This project was highly inspired by 1920s - 1930’s styles, with inspiration taken from iconic figures such as Betty Boop. I have always enjoyed learning about and using parts of vintage fashion in my life. Whether it's wearing bell-bottom jeans or simply watching an older movie. Despite the fact that I am definitely not a very fashion-motivated person, I’ve found the change in fashion and style throughout the past 100 years and the reasons behind it to be really interesting. Being able to transfer this into a piece of art is really cool to me, especially a 3-D piece. This project was for my pottery and sculpture class, so clay was a must. Although it isn't my medium of choice, I always enjoy working with clay when I can. Starting with a slab, I built up the mask, adding more and more features, and with it, personality. This piece was one I especially enjoyed the process of glazing. With such intricate details in each individual freckle and eyelash, the shine to her hair, and the different shades of green in her eyes. I wanted this piece to not only look at least slightly realistic, but familiar.
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Taylor Anthes is a junior artist at Basalt High School. She was born and raised in the Roaring Fork valley, spending lots of time outdoors with her family, camping, skiing, hiking, snowmobiling, and much more. Art has always been something she has found herself drawn to, especially with mediums like acrylic paint and graphite drawings. Having grown up in a very outdoorsy environment, Taylor feels extremely connected to the outdoors around her, usually incorporating that connection into her art in one way or another. Other projects have connections to different aspects of her life such as family, or music, each impacting her in their own way. Although not all of her art really has a meaning in that often she simply enjoys the process of creating the art.

Delaney Prosser

Delayney Prosser, a senior artist at basalt high school, grew up in the roaring fork valley all of her life with her family of five. Through a rough high school experience, Delaney used art as a way to express her creativity and emotion in visual art pieces while being in a small isolated valley where it was hard to relate to others. Delaney enjoys making art that is up for interpretation. She likes the idea of her audience feeling a broad range of emotions depending on their mood and opinions. Delaney specifically enjoys drawing and ceramics, though she uses many mediums in different ways as she is still figuring out her passion through art. During her junior year, Delaney exhaustively tried to prepare for graduation and figure out what her life would look like out of high school. She took several art classes including pottery and sculpting, painting, and a more advanced art 3 class as she knew that art made her feel content and confident. Through these classes, she was able to see what her passions were and began to see art as something that gave life meaning. She started to see art in everything. In people, music, emotions, nature, evolution, and almost everything that she came across on a day-to-day basis. After high school, Delaney plans to continue working on art and traveling in order to see more places and get more experience to inspire her work. She currently lives in Basalt CO and is graduating in May of 2023.

Lemon Argueta 

Tortillera 
For the tortillera, I was inspired by one of my friends that made one last year. The mushroom was always the end goal, the mushroom was supposed to be a different shape but I ultimately went with the one I did because it was easier. I simply made a mushroom because I like them and to be honest I’ll probably regret making so many mushroom and frog things. The frog on top has a type of “bucket”? I don't really know what to call it off the top of its head (in Spanish it’s called a “Guacal”),  but it’s what women typically used to carry tortillas, tortilla dough, produce, anything really, I wanted it to have a little Salvadoran/Central American motif. The frog itself was my own little “lemon touch”; it wasn't in the original design. As to why I made this specifically, I wanted to make a piece of art that can also have daily use. But I also made it for my mother because right now it is a weird patch so I just wanted to make her something. Making the container part was relatively easy even though it was my first time taking on a bigger clay project, it was definitely intimidating. For the mushroom cap, and the lid, I had a bit more trouble. I was scared that I would make it wrong and it would fall apart and I had a hard time figuring out how to flip it because I was so scared of accidentally ruining it and having to restart. Then came the frog that I sculpted for fun while I was waiting for it to dry, and that was a whole nother problem of attaching and hoping that it wouldn’t break off as soon as I tried to lift it up. Overall I had fun and I’m fairly happy with my result. 

Salvadoran Mugs
These pieces don't really have names other than mugs. Each mug has its personality they’re all colorful and unique in their own way. For mug number one I chose El Salvador’s national tree which is covered in pink flowers, it is called Maquilishuat. The second mug has the national bird, the Torogoz, which is a colorful bird and is native to El Salvador. The third mug is covered in Marañones, also known as the cashew fruit. I grew up with this fruit in many forms like juice and candy and brings back many fun memories. The fourth and final mug is the volcano and ocean mug. This mug was meant to represent the active volcanoes and the beautiful beaches El Salvador is known for. I really want to make more cultural art because this is something important to me. But my mother also suggested that I make her mugs when I asked her what I should do at the beginning of this project. Honestly, I think she just wants free mugs. I had a lot of fun with these mugs and I also learned new things. This was my first-time wheel throwing and it was easy to pick up but hard to actually make look good, there was a lot of trial and error but in the end, I'm pretty happy with the results.