At first glance, the colorful ceramic monsters displayed in the senior art show at Lakewood High School may look like playful clay sculptures. Behind every goofy smile, uneven tooth and oversized eyeball, however, is a collaboration between high school ceramics students and second graders from Emerson Elementary School that took weeks of creativity, patience and determination.

The project began when ceramics teacher Sophia Stasiak found inspiration online.

“I saw inspiration online, honestly TikTok, and I thought it was a really cool idea for collaboration,” Stasiak said. “So I reached out to one of the other art teachers at Emerson, and she had one of her second-grade classes draw monsters.”

The elementary students created original monster drawings filled with bright colors, unusual shapes and imaginative details. Students in the high school ceramics classes then transformed those drawings into three-dimensional sculptures by hand.

The process proved more difficult than it appeared. Creating clay versions of the children’s drawings involved sculpting, firing, glazing and, in some cases, restarting projects when pieces cracked or broke in the kiln.

Despite the challenges, students said the experience was rewarding because it encouraged creativity while also helping them connect with younger students in the district.

Sophomore Savannah Sullivan said her favorite part of the project was bringing another student’s imagination to life.

“Being able to recreate another person’s art,” Sullivan said. “Making inspiration from somebody’s art is really fun.”

Sullivan said the project taught her patience and persistence.

“Determination,” she said when asked what she learned from the experience. “Even though it took so many tries, it finally turned out to be good.”

Like many of the ceramics students, Sullivan hopes the elementary students will feel excited and proud when they finally see the finished monsters in person.

“I really hope they’re excited to see it,” she said. “We put a lot of effort into these. It took weeks and a lot of trial and error, so I really hope they’re happy with the outcome.”

Another student artist, Lucy McDonald, said the project stood out because each monster reflected the personality of the child who designed it.

“My favorite part about this project was building the monsters themselves and really seeing the kids’ personalities shine through their drawings and getting the chance to make those,” McDonald said.

The ceramic pieces range from silly and playful to bizarre and chaotic. Some monsters feature giant horns or oversized feet, while others include bright paint colors and exaggerated expressions. Rather than trying to make the sculptures look polished or perfect, students focused on staying true to the original artwork.

McDonald admitted students also felt some pressure about how the second graders would react to the finished pieces.

“I honestly hope that the kids will like them,” she said. “I’ve heard that they can be very judgmental of their monsters, so I’m just hoping for positive reactions.”

For many high school students, the project became about more than creating art. It also offered an opportunity to inspire younger students and introduce them to high school art programs.

“The thing that I took away from this project was how much of an impact we’re making on these kids,” McDonald said. “It’s probably their first chance, even coming into a high school and just seeing what a high school looks like, what high schoolers are like, and just those feelings that they know that seniors actually looked at their drawings.”

Stasiak believes the collaboration represents something larger than a typical ceramics assignment.

“I think it really just shows the collaboration between all the different schools that Lakewood has,” she said. “And just honestly, Lakewood City Schools in general.”

She also hopes including elementary students in the senior art show encourages them to stay involved in art as they grow older.

“I think that just showcasing younger artists and getting them involved in the high school shows really kind of inspires them to take part in their high school career,” Stasiak said.

The Emerson class was selected partly because of Stasiak’s connection with the school’s art teacher.

“I know the art teacher pretty well, so I just reached out to her and saw if she would be willing to collaborate,” Stasiak said. “And she had a good class that she thought would be super interested.”

Projects like this demonstrate how art can connect students of different ages in meaningful ways. The second graders were able to see their ideas taken seriously, while the high school students learned the challenges and rewards of bringing someone else’s imagination to life.

The finished monsters are funny, creative and sometimes a little strange, but that is what makes them memorable. Together, they represent collaboration across the district and serve as a reminder that art is about more than perfection.