Currently, I am a Ceramic teacher at East Brunswick High School in East Brunswick, New Jersey and the Montclair Art Museum in Montclair, New Jersey. At EBHS I run the Ceramic program, I teach Introduction to Ceramics and Ceramic Workshop. I am currently trying to expand the program to include AP 3-D Art as well. At Montclair Art Museum I teach a variety of ceramic classes to a variety of age groups between 5-16, that incorporates hand-building, wheel-throwing and glazing techniques.
I am always trying new things in hopes to share my enthusiasm for the craft with my students. In East Brunswick, annually, I run an Outdoor Firing Event with the Ceramic Workshop students, in which the students participate in a variety of firing techniques. I teach the student a variety of techniques, such as, bringing a kiln outdoors to conduct a Raku glaze fire with a reduction chamber and slip resist, digging a ditch and managing a pit fire and a barrel fire with pieces that are fired raw and in saggars. In my classes students have a opportunity to make their own glazes and I encourage them to research different surface techniques, such as, relief, printing, slip trailing and wax resist.
While I am teaching I am constantly working on my own projects to expose the student to new concepts and techniques. I have some of my Ceramic work at the store All Things Local at the Menlo Mall in Edison New Jersey and hope to continue to get exposure in the community. Everyday is a new day to learn and try something new, most days in my studio I find myself interested in a new technique that a saw at a museum, online, or from a book and explore it. I have always been a life-long learner, learning and trying new art techniques excites me and motivates me in my own practice. This excites me to be a teacher and helps my bring my passion for the craft to the classroom.
Ashley Hananiah 