Clay Club is organized by Joshua Teplitzky. It’s open to anyone & everyone in the Smoky Hill community who wants to join. Differentiating clay club from pottery class, clay club is about self projects and the student’s interest in clay overall. 

“Clay club helps us to expand our learning with clay by getting to know different artists, the variety of how you can use clay, and making new pieces of artwork,” Student Cross Benavidez said.

This year, the number of students who joined the club increased. “I would just show up. We have a really big group this year. Probably the biggest ever and I think that’s because kids just want to learn,” Teplitzky said. “Kids are so bored with their phones on Netflix and Social Media. There’s nothing left. Luckily, this club makes up for the time they spend on the Internet.”

This group meets every Wednesday after school In-room II- 408.“When I get to clay club I usually work skills that we just learned about like glazing my projects or using the wheel to make things such as bowls or cups,” Benavidez said.

There are no specific skills or experiences to be successful in the club. It’s an after-school activity you can expand your hobby in. Whether working with clay is a genuine interest or if it’s something new you want to try out, Clay club does not require you to have key attributes to join.”Well, I think it’s sort of like the clay class where the more work you do, the better you get. Raising your clay fitness,” Mr. Teplitzky said

“I joined the club because I like the pottery class and I wanted to continue working with clay after the semester was over. Working with clay was something I thought personally I was good at but could get better & better with overtime so I just kept going,” Benavidez said.

Benavidez has made about 12 personal projects over the past semester & many more to come along moving forward. Clay projects can be used as gifts, decoration, crockery, or even just as a simple piece of artwork.

“The club helps us to learn new skills, learn new concepts with clay that we may not have learned before. I’m very passionate about working with clay and clay club helps me carry out that passion by trying new things without taking the actual class,” Benavidez said.