You’ve seen Santa walking around campus, but did you know that his name isn’t Saint Nick? His name is Mr. Stephen Altamirano, also known as Mr.A. He’s the teacher for Ceramics class and was president of the San Diego Potters Guild for four years.

Ceramics is the only art that includes all of the four basic elements: earth, air, fire, and water. Water to wet the clay, earth since the clay is part of the earth, fire to heat up the clay, and air to dry it out.

The class is very different – with no homework – and everything happens in the ceramics room. There’s no seating chart, and Mr A. knows everybody’s name.

Mr.A thinks that ceramics is very personal; he said, “I give the general assignment and people come up with their own thing. I assigned a pet dish and a person came up with a castle for his fish to swim through.”

The ceramics course itself also changes. “I come up with new assignments all the time. When it doesn’t work, I don’t assign it the next year,” he said.

He also says that ceramics “is like ice cream – it varies all the time.”

He really enjoys it when students actually get involved in the art of ceramics.

“Some aren’t necessarily talented at it, but enjoy it and get something out of it, while those who are good at it and don’t try get nothing out of it.”

Mr A. feels that art is very important to get people out of their comfort zone.

“Without art, students are less well-rounded. In art class, you take risks because it’s something that you’re not familiar with, and it’s unusual” says Mr.A. “Sure maybe people have done finger painting and drawing, but now they’re truly doing art and going beyond what they’re familiar with.”

“People discover more about themselves when they do art.”

Here are some of the things Mr.A looks for in ceramics class:

• Over-touched work (becomes lumpy, not smooth, wants clarity)
• Clarity of Clay (No fingerprints on the clay)
• Use of Imagination (more thought into the project)
• Thinking “outside the box” (trying something new)