Unique clay monsters

By Aubrey Loquellano

On Monday, February 2, 2026, as part of a group project focusing on imagination and collaboration, students began creating clay monsters in Kara Diaz’s Ceramics I class at Rialto High School. 

Clay monster from this recent project in Diaz's class.

The hands-on assignment encourages students to think creatively while also developing their skills in sculpting and designing. Throughout the project, students worked together to brainstorm ideas and bring their imagination to life. Diaz said the project strengthens both imagination and technical skill.

For this assignment, students worked in teams to create an imaginary world and then sculpt a creature that belonged in it. Each group had the freedom to choose its own theme, allowing a range of unique ideas and artistic styles. One group chose a Candy Land theme, inspiring playful and creative character designs. Each student had to make their creature based on the elements of the world they chose.

Senior Ashley Perez shares, “For my clay monster, my team decided to do a Candy Land, and so I decided to combine that with my favorite animal, an axolotl,” Perez said. Rather than relying solely on reference photos from the internet, she chose to rely entirely on her own imagination to create a design that matched her theme.

Perez began her project by sketching her ideas before transforming them into her three-dimensional sculpture. She created the torso first, then shaped the head and limbs before doing the smaller details. “The most difficult part was the tail because axolotls have very thin, wavy tails,” Perez said. To solve this problem, she flattened the clay, then carefully shaped it and attached it to the back of her sculpture. 

Senior Jennifer Ascencio designed a mushroom-inspired monster and shares, “The most difficult part of creating my clay monster was for sure the mushroom top since it was a thick piece of clay I had to hollow it out so it wouldn't crack,” Ascencio said. Through trial and error, she then adjusted the thickness to prevent damage during firing.

“Students often struggle with patience, fear of failure, and understanding the moisture of the clay,” Diaz shares. She also emphasized that mistakes are part of the learning process, and they help students build confidence in their artistic abilities over time.