Author's Note: In the fall of 2008, I had the pleasure of teaching at the Kansas City Art Institute. Seventeen ambitious sophomores took my course, The Figure and Structure in Clay. Throughout, they showed an intense focus, and a hunger to learn. The group created work that was technically challenging and that spoke of personal and group identity. Nearing the end of the semester, I asked the students to answer two questions, "What is art?" and "Why do you use clay to make art?" Below are their answers.

"Art heightens the senses of viewers. Words are nowhere a sufficient substitute to experience. Art is an experience, placing the viewer into a new realm.

Clay is the ultimate simulacrum, essentially able to mimic anything and become it. Without the concern of correlating or attaching variable elements, clay frees me to focus on formal and conceptual issues more than on the manufacturing. Ceramic is flesh, metal, textile, and synthetic. It comes from using one material, becoming another material to use in the creation of art. Clay is forgiving, reusable, and everywhere."

Lora Campbell

"I believe that art is about expression, and the impact that is made on the viewer. Art is not only self-expression, but is also a language that speaks universally, and across all time. My artwork is very personal to me and I feel that the emotional connection I make with the viewer is very important. I make art in order to establish this connection and use it to reveal the beauty of nature to humanity. Art is the most beautiful way to preserve an idea and express imagination.

Clay has always been one of my favorite mediums because of its flexibility, strength, and permanence. I feel that clay is the appropriate medium for my work because it is a natural material, and my concepts deal largely with the realm of nature. Clay also provides opportunities to make three-dimensional work, which I feel has a greater impact on the viewer. Clay also allows me to fully explore my interests in texture and the tactile. I enjoy using materials that require process and careful planning, and clay is definitely one of the strongest materials in these areas."

Ariel Bowman

"Art is a personal expression of our feelings and emotions. Art can be so many things and can be created in so many ways. Creativity can be expressed through each of our senses. Art is originality and creativity combined. What I love most about art is that it is limitless.

I have chosen clay because of its diversity as a material. Clay can be used for pottery as well as sculpturally and commercially. I love how I am artistically expressing myself with a material from the earth. Also, clay has different stages and can be reclaimed if a project is unsuccessful. Throwing away this material is only returning it to where it came from with out being noticeable at all. Clay is everywhere! The materials and processes can be so different, making many options available for artists. For me, there is a certain satisfaction involved in resolving technical issues during forming and firing. Clay's organic nature, mass abundance, and variety of technique are what make me interested in the material for art's sake."

Courtney Cox

"I believe art [the art process] is a matter of perception, the filtering and ordering of ideas and objects by the artist. Dadaists played with the familiarity of objects and words juxtaposing side-by-side seemingly arbitrary elements and using "low brow" humor to shock the middle class and attack ideas such as "fine" art and "the cult of genius" artist. I believe art is all these things and more. I make art because I believe there are a wealth of ideas contained in all of us that, if certain principles are learned and utilized well, can be ordered into an aesthetic that has the potential to create change in the world if only at the individual level. I believe that the utilization of materials to create a specified aesthetic is a noble pursuit and if I can take part in that I will.

Originally I was drawn to the material because the spectrum of what could be made with it seemed, to me, limitless. I learned the fundamentals of clay through vessel making and was completely overwhelmed with the vastness that was, and is, the knowledge of the materials. I spent all of the spring 2008 semester exploring the different aspects of surface and formal design that go with my work with the vessel. I experimented more than I ever had with achieving surfaces and was fascinated with the understanding of chemistry that was necessary to do so. Most currently, I am being drawn to the industry of ceramics and the advances that have been made as to the compatibility of ceramics with other materials and their utilization in the "high tech" arena, if only to expose the "art uses" that lie therein. I am now learning that ceramic materials are being used in new and innovative ways to better our industries and believe, as we ceramists have always benefited from advances in industry, that there is much more exploring and discovering to be done."

Ryan Fletcher

"Art is a personal expression of one's perceptions and beliefs. Art is a product of culture, as we are products of culture. Art is relative, as we are relative.

I love using clay to make art because of the intrinsic flexibility of the material. Ceramics is the art of redaction: I can roll and pinch, add and subtract, decide and reconsider. In no other medium do I have the freedom to do this; and, if I treat this seemingly miraculous material right, I can fire it, and it will last forever."

Sarah Taylor

"Art is an expression of an idea that visually challenges the viewer to find his or her own meaning in the work. I make art because I have a need to create. I found that rendering my ideas in physical form satisfies this need. Since I started ceramics the ideas just keep flowing through my brain even to the point of depriving me of sleep. This proves to me, for reasons beyond my control, that it is something that I was meant to do.

I have tried several mediums and the only one that I really responded to was clay. I enjoy making everyday objects such as cups, bowls and plates, but I also enjoy making multiple section vessels that deal more intricately with form and space. So I guess what I like the most about clay is that not only can you make sculptural objects, but also utilitarian objects. There are not too many mediums that I can think of, that allow me the ability to connect visually and physically."

Nate Salvin

"Art is something that moves, disturbs, or touches us as human beings - something that rattles the consciousness or sub consciousness. I like the uniqueness of human experience and existence, and the idea that a created object can reference something, resonate in the self, and cause a response. Art is the product of a person who produces objects or actions for the purpose of better understanding themselves and the world around them.

I use clay because of the ease of its malleable qualities and challenge of its complicated properties. The undeniable versatility in building methods and range of final product possibilities is also appealing. I like that the extensive nature of the learning and making process allow for reflective time of the work itself, and that there is a certain physical nature to the material in making, building and firing. As a young artist I struggle to understand my desire to make practical functional things, as well as my desire to make sculptural objects. Understanding the material allows me to have the option of exploring both avenues."

Margeaux Claude

"I view art as anything that a person does in which a specific craft or technique has been perfected. Art must move people. It should make them think, question and leave them to wonder what they have just experienced. It should be able to make a connection between the viewer and the creator. If the effect last even for a moment, art has been created.

From the moment I put my hands in clay, I knew I was hooked. I immediately became fascinated with this material and the processes we put it through. One of the things that most attracts me to this material is its history and origination in nature. I love working with my hands and feeling the sense of accomplishment after creating something with a material that has comes straight from the earth. The challenge brought by this material is why I keep pushing forward."

Mariko Brown

"Art is intertwined in my personal history. It is not only a present, but is a past and a future. It is a constant state of being: the soggy cereal in my bowl before class; the sun on the side of a red brick apartment complex; the sound of voices in a crowd; the act of closing your eyes. Blinking becomes an art for it changes one's perception momentarily with a one-second-long dream. Perception is art, and our struggle to understand our reality is art. That un-nameable urge to reach out and touch, connect, breath in, change, the kind of reaction that makes your belly turn with excitement, the feeling of not quite understanding, these are the components which make up the definition or art and life for me.

I am attracted to the physicality of clay, the challenge of facing three dimensions. Art has nothing to do with anything tangible. Abstract is by definition a dream. A dream easier to conquer on a plane than in a form that exists in the same world as I do. I can walk around this object, this tangible dream. It changes as I myself change my position around it, morphing into shapes that may or may not be intended. Challenging me to accept its presence, this type of art is closer to the igloos that I built when I was younger, and I seem to both wrestle and understand it better than any lines on a piece of paper."

Sarita Mahinay

"Art is made (that's the simplest way to put it). It's something that somebody somewhere made as a result of a thought and a process. Anyone can do it, but it takes a unique individual to make it into something that catches the imagination of the viewer. Good art commands attention, it draws you in and holds you there until you can't decipher it any more. My reason for creating art is to have the power to trigger someone's imagination, the ability to stop someone's train of thought and completely change it, and to make them question the "how" and "why" of the work they are seeing, whether it's a simple cup or an abstract sculpture. It's the fuel that advances the imagination of our civilization and creates many new paths for future artists to travel.

Clay is a malleable material that has the potential to mimic many others. Its availability makes it the most common sculpting medium for many people around the world. I am attracted to it because it gives me full control of its life. As a child I began to sculpt and shape this muddy material and I couldn't put it down; it grew on me and I couldn't do anything about it. Now, I can fully comprehend and control it. From mixing it up to its hardened finished state, I dictate what happens to it and what it's supposed to look like. It's like the child everyone wishes they had, obedient most of the time. Its versatility as a utilitarian and decorative potential makes this medium the perfect storm of the art world."

David Oicata

"Art is creative expression (our ultimate reward for being human), actualized. It is an appreciation of our existence. Art is what we take in and what we have to say about it. What we choose to share or must share. Art is a remedy. Art fills the void. Art is the spark. Art is purpose. It's what we put into action.

Working with ceramics is an opportunity for me to connect to the history, traditions, and strength of nature. As I work with the elements, I settle into simple, calm moments of subtle beauty where the meager clay in all its humbleness gives way to rich, delicate or decadent gifts. Clay is willing to become what you visualize it to be, but it does not hesitate to lead you back, always reminding, "I am only dust, you are only dust". In all its fragility, clay teaches you patience and a resilience that radiates out to the rest of your life. Clay heals, revives and inspires. It is a gift from the earth, a tool to enter the endless inner voyage."

Harmony Chapman

"Art is a product of artists and it is the artists' job to turn something ordinary into something beautiful. It is the artist's ability to attract attention and keep the viewer interested in how it is created and what it expresses. Concept and craftsmanship go hand in hand. Having a strong concept without craftsmanship creates work that people cannot understand; having strong craftsmanship without concept creates objects that take up space. A good concepts need craftsmanship in order to express ideas well and making work aesthetically pleasing creates good art.

After being a drug addict for many years, I lacked interest in the world around me, and I found myself unable to have fun without the influence of substances. I was at the edge of expulsion from my fourth college for an unimpressive G.P.A. I had to take easy classes to keep me in school. Knowing that I had some sort of talent working with clay, I picked ceramics. For some mysterious reason, working on the wheel caught my attention and it has played a huge part in the victory over my addictions. As of how, the answer still eludes me to this day."

Dan Lin

"Art can be anything! Art is all around us, every day of our lives. Art is simply the act of creating, for oneself, a few, or many. Many of us, from birth, seem compelled to create out of whatever is available, whether its oil paints or macaroni. Art is whatever inspires us, drives us, or makes our world a more tolerable place to live. There is such an overwhelming pain and sadness in this world. If one can make something that has the power to make us forget our problems for a moment, then we have succeeded in this thing we call art.

Clay comes from the crust of the earth as an ancient gift from our earth mother. Dating back to the beginning of civilization, there is a rich history attached to its use. When we touch clay, we touch the soul of our humanity. I am honored to be a minuscule part of this tradition. When I touch clay, I loose myself completely. Then, suddenly a form begins to appear and it speaks to me, begging me to use my tools to bring it to life."

Barrett Leary

"Art is a documentation of the artist. My narratives are usually from events or experiences in my life. My sketchbook drawings are self-referential and though these sketches I document the progression of the days and months that pass and the changes that occur. The subject matter in my work speaks about feeling and the finished product is the documentation of that feeling. When my work is not figural, it portrays a moment or a memory. Basically, art is a documentation of a moment in the artist's perception of his or her own world.

Clay is new to me and this is why I chose to study ceramics. Clay excites me. Ceramics offers a new set of processes and techniques that I will learn and conquer. It sets a rubric for my work, which is something I feel I need. My work can improve and grow with the inherent boundaries of clay."

Andrew Harting

"Art can be anything, from random objects lying on the street to a well thought out drawing. Art is how the artist views the world and sees their life. I believe that art is a visual subject that can explain visually, not by words.

To use clay, I can shape and mold anything. I can see not just one view, but views from all angles of a sculpture. Using clay for the figure can also help me understand anatomy, therefore improving my drawing skills. I like the idea that once the clay is fired, it will last a very long time."

Jeremy Morehead