Kelly Schnorr fashioning at the Coronado High School Ceramics Studio
The first day at a new school is never easy. For Kelly Schnorr the new ceramics teacher at Coronado High School it is going to be especially tough. She’s not only new to the school and community, but she is also replacing Eric Rempe, one of the districts most beloved teachers. He left this past year after establishing and running the program for 15 years.
“I’m overwhelmed,” the 33 year old said. “There’s so much to learn, about the students, the faculty and the community.”
More than a decade younger and good foot and a half shorter, Schnorr brings a decidedly different vibe to the. studio, but she is no less gifted or passionate than Rempe.
“Kelly is an incredibly energetic, dynamic and talented ceramist and artist,” said Richard Burkett who taught both at San Diego State University [SDSU]. “Her aesthetic differs from Eric’s in some ways. Eric was always more focused on functional pottery in his work. Kelly is a bit more sculptural with really strong drawing skills.”
Her work also expresses a point of view about suburbia and its throw away subculture. “Sentimentality and disposability present a fascinating dichotomy in suburban American culture,” she wrote on website https://kelly-schnorr.squarespace.com
Schnorr’s potato chip bag represents how we as a society strive for it all — a home, a career, a family. The whole bag of potato chips.
Growing up in Rancho Penesquitos the beach and sports were a big part of her life. At Mount Carmel High she competed in water polo and swimming. Her first job out of high school was as a lifeguard in Solana Beach. She still lifeguards there every summer. “When I find a job I love I stay with it,” she said.
While she loved lifeguarding, Schnorr wanted to teach art. She began as art education major at Chico State University. Just before she graduated, one of her professors recognized her talent and suggested she apply for the school’s BFA program. It took an extra year and special projects to complete the program. “It was an extremely valuable time I cherish as I look back on it now,” she said.
After earning an MFA from SDSU, Schnorr continued to explore the clay, a medium she connected with as an undergraduate. She studied ceramics in Ecuador at the Project Network Residency at the Guidagaard International Ceramic Research Center in Demark.
|Early on she gained recognition as an artist. Her work has been exhibited all over the country. Her awards included National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts graduate fellowship and a Lincoln Art and Culture Tile Heritage Award.
Her goal to become a teacher took a bit longer. After earning her MFA at SDSU she stitched together a patchwork of teaching jobs that included workshops and stints in Jamul Middle School, Palomar College, and Our Lady of Peace Academy. She not only taught ceramics, but a range of art classes including drawing, painting, collage, and printmaking. At Palomar she also worked as the ceramic department’s lab tech.
“I had so many jobs in so many places that I felt like a freeway flyer,” she said. She was so intent on landing a teaching position that she reached out to ceramics teachers around the county offering to assist them in class. Rempe was one of them. She visited his class in January and May of last year to observe his approach to teaching and got to know some of his students. “Their great, bright and hardworking.”
Elizabeth Nebo, the adult education ceramics teacher left, Eric Rempe center, Kelly Schnorr right. Photo by Merle Lambeth.
Rempe was impressed with her passion both for teaching and for clay. “She is energetic, likable and knowledgeable,” he said in interview from his home in New Jersey . “One thing that she said in the interview that stood out for me was that this would be her dream job.” To him that kind of commitment was more important than what direction she might the ceramics program he created. Not the Schnorr has any plans to shift the program in any dramatic way.
“When I was at SDSU Richard [Burkett] talked about Eric a lot,” she said. “I knew about him and the amazing program he started here.” “So much of value exist here of what he did. I want to keep all of that,” she said.
Empty Bowls and the Arrowmount scholarships will continue. “The benefits of these reach well beyond school and create a great sense of pride in the studio and community,” she said.
Though her aesthetic is different her teaching philosophy may not veer too far from Rempe’s. “I believe strong work balances craft and concept. My goal is to teach students to achieve this though growing their own ideas as well as developing their skills,” she said. “I want their work to be a reflection of themselves.” Rempe always saw his job as “helping his students achieve what they wanted artistically.”
