Native Animals

This semester students were prompted to think about animals that are native to the Fremont area and Ohlone College Campus. The plan was to make animals out of clay and have some portions of them mosaiced. As a class, we discussed various animals and project ideas. Three animals were chosen and students decided which group they wanted to work on: the owl for its wisdom and perceptiveness, the snail for the beauty of small creatures that you only seem to notice when you slow down (and we should all slow down and observe the world) and the steelhead trout which is endangered in Northern California. The evening class joined in on this project with Professor Jennifer Brazelton. One student made a turtle with eggs and a thermometer. His work is about global warming and how it effects the sex of the babies and another student focused on the Ohlone tiger beetle.

For this project our ceramic class was to think about animals living in our area. My group decided to represent the Steelhead trout which is endangered in Northern California. We first made the animal's bodies with clay, and after the firing, we added mosaics in specific planned areas. Some parts, such as the fins, were handmade tiles that were glazed and mosaiced onto the clay bodies. After building the fish we realized that it would look nicer to have a base for each fish. It is very pleasant to leave a mark at Ohlone College, and we hope that many future students will enjoy looking at our pieces as much as we enjoyed making them. My group was made of only 2 students, and we wish to have more time to make more fish. This was a very fun project, and it was especially very interesting to learn about mosaics. We'd love for there to be a whole school of fish.