Evie MacDougall is in Grade 12 and won’t be around next year at Lake City Secondary School (LCSS), but she still wants her fellow students to be able to enjoy ceramics.
She and another student, Amina Bird, who is in Grade 11, are hoping to gather as much support as they can before a discussion begins around the future of the school’s ceramics classes.
“I’m pretty passionate about it and I’m passionate about other students being able to do it,” said Evie.
The pair have heard the future of the program may be in jeopardy due to a costly upgrade required to meet air quality requirements.
"Our school had an independent inspection completed to identify where we need to make improvements to ensure the safety to staff and students," said Curt Levens, principal of LCSS, in an email to the Tribune.
He said the ceramics room was identified as needing some follow-up, but no decisions had been made about the program's future.
"But we are looking into how we can improve safety measures for staff and students moving forward," he said.
The two young artists weren’t waiting to hear if the program is or is not cancelled, however, and instead were taking to the halls and school grounds to ensure student voices were going to be included at a meeting on the program’s future they said is scheduled for Monday, June 23.
“It’s hard to uncancel a decision,” said Evie.
So the pair were collecting signatures in support of the class’s continuation, and by Thursday afternoon had gathered about 250 names. They hoped to reach 300 before the Monday meeting, but were already encouraged by the response they were getting from their fellow students.
“It’s hard as a student to know what to do and how to help,” said Evie, and both students emphasized how impactful the ceramics class was for them.
“It’s a hands-on medium,” said Evie, noting the increasing dominance of artificial intelligence in generating art, while ceramics was grounded very much in three dimensions and reality.
The two artists agreed it can be a big boost for mental health too.
“There a variety of creativity within it,” said Amina. Through taking the class, the students had a chance to experience using the wheel, hand-building, slab-building, sculpting, surface design and glazing.
They said the medium caters to a wide variety of people and creativity.
“We both really fell in love with it,” said Amina.
They said the program helps to keep students accountable, as they work through the multi-stage process of creating in ceramics. Plus, with the opportunity for things to go wrong at any stage, it gives young people an appreciation for the time and effort it takes to create handmade items.
“It’s very much a labour of love,” said Evie, remembering a time when she dropped a piece she had worked so hard on. “It gives a lot of resilience,” she said.
The pair were hopeful after the many in-person conversations they were having with their fellow students, and they said almost everyone they spoke to was signing in support of the program.
Despite many of those signing not planning to take that particular class, they said many other students were artists who just wanted to ensure other artists were supported and there were options for their fellow students.
“The arts are just so important and they're important for community-building,” said Evie.
Amina said she and Evie are still hopeful the class can be kept as an option, and their efforts will help show the program’s importance.
“We need to make a difference as students,” she said.
“I really, really enjoyed this class so I really want to ensure it stays open for future students if I can,” said Evie.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to add a response from the administration.
