Maya Grogean ’26 is a four-year ceramics student whose sculpture and functional pieces are currently on display in the Rotunda and Main Hallway.
How have you grown as a ceramic student?
I was really bad when I first got here. I did not have very much practice when I first got here. I have grown in my appreciation for it, and therefore, in my talent and skill.
What are some of your favorite pieces?
I really like Taylor, which is what I named my big floral vase [currently on display in the Rotunda]. I also
really like this one that I did that’s in my Senior Show. I’m calling it Grounded, but it’s a statue of justice.
I also love a lot of the functional stuff that I made for myself and for my family. I really like having pieces of my own ceramics that work in my daily life.
What are some good memories you’ve had in ceramics?
I have made a lot of friends. All the other Seniors in my class have been together for four years now. It’s been a really long time. Also, finally figuring out how to throw when I was a Lower Mid.
What advice would you give to other artists?
Keep trying. I know it’s really hard at first, and a lot of the time, pieces come out of the kiln not exactly as you imagined them. But it’s really magical when you get it right.
Theadora Dunckel ’26 has taken ceramics classes every year at the school. She won a Gold Key for her work in the Scholastic Art Competition in 2025.
How has ceramics helped you grow?
It has taught me above all else to never give up. The work demands time and patience well beyond the classroom, and there are moments when the process feels really tedious, but the end result is always worth it.
When pieces crack, collapse, or fall apart entirely, it is always frustrating, but learning to push through those setbacks has shaped me in ways that extend far beyond the studio.
What are your favorite pieces?
My favorite piece is my House of Cards. I made 45 individual cards with unique faces that had pictures showing my family history, starting from my earliest relatives and places that were important to their stories at the bottom, and working to the top two cards that have my immediate family on it, so the house of cards represents a reverse family tree.
What are some good memories you’ve had in ceramics?
One of my favorite parts about ceramics is the community that exists in the ceramics room. Some of my favorite memories are the conversations I have had while working on pieces with the other ceramics students. I have gotten to know people across all grades, just by meeting them while working on pieces.
