Students continue working in the other handbuilding techniques of coil or modular building, soft slab and hard slab, and are encouraged to develop a personal way of working. They work on the potter's wheel, learning the basic techniques of throwing cylinder and bowl forms. Students produce from two to five works in each of these methods. As technical skill is developed, the student produces a number of more complex works with strong personal expression. This work could include units in production in which craftsmanship and design are stressed as well as work which reflects study into the use of clay by contemporary clay workers.
Students learn how to make glazes from raw materials and the basic applications of glaze chemistry.
They learn to fire electric kilns, use pyrometric cones in various types of firings, and to build and fire a primitive sawdust kiln. The second semester of this curriculum focuses on study of the personal expression of the clay worker from primitive times to contemporary clay artists. Students continue to develop more advanced technical skills, both in handbuilding and on the potter's wheel. Projects such as teapots, series work, study of a specific culture or artist as well as work with various types of clays, glazes and other more complex decorating and firing techniques serve as a basis for this work. A substantial body of work which demonstrates this endeavor is produced.