Sophia Cortes

In a deep state of concentration, Mrunali Rajiv ‘28 calmly smooths out the pinched edges of her pinch pot. Other members’ creations included jewelry dishes and mugs. “Making what you want and not having anyone telling you what to do is very therapeutic about art,” Rajiv said.

Pottery artists poured in the room, ready to wind-down with their friends after a long and stressful school day. Collaborating together to conduct a joint meeting, Ceramics Club and Active Minds Club met on Monday, Nov. 11 to promote mental health awareness while engaging in the calm, therapeutic activity of pottery.

“We’re making little mugs and bowls and stamping positive quotes like, ‘You are loved,’” Ceramics Club Vice President Rima Vudutalapally ‘25 said. “Art therapy alleviates stress and generally interacting with the clay gets your mind off things, and art is a way of expressing how you feel.”

Pleasantly surprised by the outpour of eager artists, Ceramics Club was encouraged to consider pursuing future collaboration projects with other clubs.

“I think the turnout of this meeting is really good,” Ceramics Club Treasurer Zella Stricklin ‘25 said. “Usually Ceramics Club doesn’t have that many people unfortunately, and I’m really glad that there are more people than we usually get. I believe we got more people to participate because it’s a collaboration between two clubs, it was on the announcements, and the food always gets people in.”

In order to further the cause of both organizations — to spread more positivity to students — the two clubs banded together and made it their overarching goal to promote mental health awareness through art.

“I think Active Minds in this school is not just for mental health awareness but also just to give the students a safe place to be in to have fun and be themselves — and with Ceramics, [mental health] works in the form of art therapy,” Active Minds Vice President Rutu Ruparel ‘25 said. “By putting mental health messages on the art pieces that we make, we can spread mental health awareness throughout the school.”

“For me, doing ceramics is a very therapeutic process,” Ceramics Club Student Council  Representative Jennifer Rong ‘25 said. “The process of starting from a lump of clay and slowly working your way towards a creation that you put your effort into uplifts people. Making something that you’re proud of and that you think looks nice, it’s a definitely rewarding experience at the end to see the product of your imagination.” 

Many student artists were able to resonate and interact with the tranquil environment generated by the event by socializing with familiar faces and skillfully manipulating the clay to put their worries at ease.

“When you’re so focused on grades, you tend to forget about other things like your mental health and before you know it, you’re too far-gone,” Leila Tavasoli ‘25 said. “Focusing on your mental health through art can really help.”