Paul Bensemoun cub writer
Walking into the sculpture and ceramics class, the students all go to find their seats waiting for art teacher Melony Bronder to start her class by taking attendance and telling them what they will be doing during the following fifty-three minutes.
“When I was two or three years old, my parents left me alone at home for a little too long so I got bored and I started drawing all over the walls in my house. Even though I got in a lot of trouble, I just knew I loved art.”
Bronder teaches sculpture and ceramics, architecture, and drawing and painting. She loves all types of arts and what it brings to her.
“When I first got into high school, I loved art so much. I just had to try everything and I loved it,” Bronder said. “Art in general is my passion.”
According to Bronder, she has no problem finding inspiration for her art work.
“I find inspiration randomly. I could be on vacation, and I see something that I like or that I find interesting and I’ll just represent it in different ways in my art. It changes all the time,” Bronder said.
One of Bronder’s favorite arts for multiple reasons is sculpture and ceramics.
“I like how easy it is to work with and how it allows you to get a little messy. I also like that it can be both functional and decorative,” she said. “It’s also really relaxing, like when I’m having a bad week sometimes on Friday I just stay in my classroom after school and make things for hours and it makes me so happy.”
Even though art is one of her biggest passions, there are a lot of other things that she loves to do.
“I love reading and I also used to love singing, but I don’t really do it anymore. I also love the ocean, but my biggest passion is definitely traveling,” she said. “I love to see new things and explore different cultures. I also love to just wander a city and try out different restaurants there.”
Sophomore Eyal Wrobel, one of Bronder’s sculpture and ceramics students, finds Bronder to be a helpful and fun teacher.
“She is always smiling and she is very passionate about her work. She is really helpful to the students who have trouble with the pottery wheel or in hand building, and she gives us a lot of freedom,” Wrobel said. “All the projects that she gives us really help us work on our creativity and originality. I’ve learned a lot since being in her class. I particularly love the fact that as long as we are being productive, she lets us socialize and work together on any project which is helpful because you can get help from anyone in the class. The mood is full of positive energy, she plays music, and during this period, I really have fun.”
Although Bronder allows her students to socialize and to walk around while working during class time, she still manages to be organized.
“I like how she is still able to control everything around the room. She is organized and she can help all of us at the same time. She does not allow phones or cursing in her room which I think is good because we don’t get distracted from our work,” Wrobel said.
Bronder has been teaching high school students for ten years, and every day, she is still surprised by how talented her students are.
“I love my students, they are great. In my opinion, they’re the best part about this job. What I like most about teaching is seeing a finished project or when a student succeeds in something that he or she has been having trouble with for a long time, like the pottery wheel,” she said.