Ceramics student shapes ocean life

Alayna Wenzlick, a 20-year-old Biology major, is in Palomar’s ceramics program to share hidden sights of the ocean through her artistic pieces.

While Wenzlick has been involved in various forms of art for a long time, she has only just recently taken up the art of ceramics.

“I’d never done it before,” she said. “I’ve painted, drew before, but I heard great things about Palomar ceramics department, so I decided to give it a try.”

Wenzlick surrounds herself with porcelain in the forms of sea life, such as coral reefs, barnacles, and sea anemone.

“I’ve always loved the ocean,” Wenzlick said. “There’s just so much to be seen when you’re not looking for it.”

Wenzlick’s relationship with the ocean and marine life includes days of snorkeling, diving and exploring the low tides at beaches. She said she especially enjoys creating pieces of things that are seen at low tide, as they’re not commonly seen by most people.

“I think it’s really interesting to get to take those different aspects, and making it into something you can see all the time,” Wenzlick said.

Wenzlick would like to see her work spread a message about its oceanic subjects, and aspires for her work to “bring more awareness to the oceans, our surroundings.”

Wenzlick also uses ceramics to help ease the stresses that comes with being a college student. In order to keep her stress levels down she regularly works with clay, and always attempts to balance art and studies so that one won’t get in the way of the other.

“Do something you love while doing something that you really have to work at,” she said. “You have to find that in-between.”

Wenzlick would like to develop a stronger presence to potential fans of her pieces, and she is working toward eventually setting up a website to feature her art. To keep up with Wenzlick and her world of the sea-turned-land pieces, you can find her work in the Palomar ceramics buildings.