A ceramicist is an artist who works with clay and organic materials to create artistic, decorative or functional items. Although there is no mandatory training or education required to become a ceramicist, as many own their own businesses and/or work for themselves and can be self taught, many people discover this activity in a high school art or pottery class where they learn the basics. Many ceramicists could also get a 2 or 4 year degree in something like fine arts and sculpting. Private classes would also be very beneficial for learning how to use clay. Some schools that offer ceramics degrees are The University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, University of Washington and Rhode Island School of Design. A top program for ceramics would be Alfred University- New York State College of Ceramics. Since many ceramicists are freelance, it is hard o identify their average salary but in 2011 craft artists made an average salary of $32,010. I really like the fact that a lot of pottery and ceramics is very functional and something you can use everyday for years. It is also fully customizable and I've seen many beautiful teapots, mugs etc. with incredible 3-D elements that are really well detailed and interesting. It is also a very valuable skill because you can make a lot of dish wear, or anything really and you don't have to be highly skilled to produce a quality piece. I have definitely thought about doing clay or ceramics for one of my projects going forward.
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