Arts & Activities Magazine February 2019 by Arts & Activities

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CONTENTS VOLUME 165, N o. 1

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 1 9

ROLLING OUT THE CLAY 12 PINCH-POT ANIMAL BOWLS Irv Osterer 14 SYMBOLIC CERAMIC TOTEM POLES Terese Giobbia 16 PEEPS OF THE WORLD, UNITE! DECORATIVE PEEPHOLE PLUGS

FOR THE CLASSROOM KILN David L. Gamble

23 WHERE I’M FROM: NARRATIVES IN CLAY Tera Stockdale 24 ENCHANTED ENVIRONMENTS Craig Hinshaw 26 FACE JUGS Tammie Clark YEARLONG SECONDARY CURRICULUM SERIES 10 3D INTRO ART, ARTICLE 6 OF 10: CLAY VESSELS Debi West

SPECIAL FEATURES AND COLUMNS 6 STEPPING STONES: SPRING ART SHOWS IN YOUR COMMUNITY Heidi O’Hanley 7 ART IS AT THE CORE: BARRINGTON WATSON, ‘CONVERSATION’ Amanda Koonlaba

28 SAILORS’ VALENTINES: EXPLORING 19TH-CENTURY CRAFTS Emily Moll 30 SCAFFOLDING ARTISTIC ACCOMPLISHMENT WITH STORIES AND ART Alice Arnold 38 TRIED & TRUE TIPS FOR ART TEACHERS: TRANSFORMED BY ART Glenda Lubiner

READY-TO-USE CLASSROOM RESOURCES 19 ARTS & ACTIVITIES ART PRINT: WATER JAR, ACOMA PUEBLO

Tara Cady Sartorius 37 ARTS & ACTIVITIES STUDY PRINT: FACE JUG John Lewis Miles Pottery

A&A AT YOUR SERVICE 31 CLAY CORNER 34 WEB CONNECT 36 ADVERTISER INDEX

DEPARTMENTS 4 EDITOR’S NOTE 8 MEDIA REVIEWS 9 SHOP TALK

ON THE COVER CHAMELEON PEEPHOLE PLUG by ceramic artist Lisa Scroggins, New York City. See “Peeps of the World, Unite! Decorative Peephole Plugs for the Classroom Kiln,” page 16. Photograph courtesy of Skutt Ceramic Products.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: (858) 605-0251; subs@artsandactivities.com. EDITORIAL: (858) 605-0242; ed@artsandactivities.com. AD SALES: (800) 651-7567; amy.tanguay@artsandactivities.com. AD PRODUCTION: production@artsandactivities.com. FAX: (858) 605-0247. WEBSITE: www.artsandactivities.com. ADDRESS: 12345 World Trade Dr., San Diego, CA 92128. Arts & Activities® (ISSN 0004-3931) is published monthly, except July and August, by Publishers’ Development Corp., 12345 World Trade Dr., San Diego, CA 92128. Subscriptions: one year, $24.95; two years, $39.95; three years, $49.95. Foreign subscriptions, add $35 per year for postage. Single copy, $4. Title to this magazine passes to subscriber only on delivery to his or her address. Change of address requires at least four weeks’ notice. Send old address and new address. Periodical postage paid at San Diego, Calif., and at additional mailing offices. Printing by Democrat Printing, Little Rock, Ark. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Arts & Activities®, 12345 World Trade Drive, San Diego, CA 92128.

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28 3

e d i t o r ’s n o t e

I N M E M O R I A M ( 1 9 4 2 – 2 018 ) Thomas von Rosen p r e s i d e n t

The chameleon on this month’s cover seems to be announcing that it’s the right time for “rolling out the clay.” We wholeheartedly agree, and present to you a fine group of clay-related lessons from experienced art educators. Let’s get started!

e d i t o r a n d p u b l i s h e r Maryellen Bridge

a r t d i r e c t o r Niki Ackermann EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

“This assignment extends the pinch pot into a sculptural event,” writes Irv Osterer in his “Pinch-Pot Animal Bowls” (page 12). Here, he shares his lesson that’s tailor-made for introducing clay to older students: “The pinch pot is always a good place to start. Students learn to feel the clay and determine what it will and will not do.”

Clay is an effective way for students to “openly communicate through their art what they may be feeling or experiencing,”

Cris E. Guenter Professor of Arts Education/Curriculum and Instruction California State University, Chico

Jerome J. Hausman Lecturer, Consultant and Visiting Professor, at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago Barbara Herberholz Art Education Consultant, Sacramento, California George Székely Senior Professor of Art Education, University of Kentucky, Lexington

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Geri Greenman Art Department Head (Retired), Willowbrook High School, Villa Park, Illinois

states Terese Giobbia in “Symbolic Ceramic Totem Poles.” She goes on to

Paula Guhin Art Teacher (Retired), Central HighSchool, Aberdeen, South Dakota

share the project that she says “became the perfect way to introduce middle

Nan E. Hathaway Art Teacher, Crossett Brook Middle School, Duxbury, Vermont

schoolers to techniques for building clay sculptures. “The activity created a safe place for students to reflect on their feelings about themselves, and learn about another culture,” she writes. Read more starting on page 14.

As Tera Stockdale began developing her lesson, she asked herself, “How can meaningful personal narratives be explored through 3D works of art?” Teaching at a school with a diverse international student population, she was looking for a way that the immigrant and refugee students in her art class could tell their stories through art. Turn to page 23 to read about her solution: “Where I’m From: Narratives in Clay.”

For art teachers, hearing a student exclaim, “This is the best thing I’ve ever made!” is music to their ears. Craig Hinshaw details the project that elicited this response on page 24 in his “Enchanted

Amanda Koonlaba Curriculum Specialist, Teaching Artist, Saltillo, Mississippi Glenda Lubiner Middle-School Art Teacher, Franklin Academy Charter School, Pembroke Pines, Florida Don Masse Heidi O’Hanley

Art Teacher, Zamorano Fine Arts Academy, San Diego, California Art Teacher, Brodnicki Elementary School Justice, Illinois

Irv Osterer Department Head – Fine Arts and Technology, Merivale High School, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Debi West Art Education Consultant, former Art Teacher, Hilton Head, South Carolina

A D V E R T I S I N G D E PA R T M E N T

a d v e r t i s i n g m a n a g e r Amy Tanguay

amy.tanguay @ artsandactivities.com 800.826.2216 or 888.651.7567 p r o d u c t i o n d i r e c t o r Kevin Lewis p r o d u c t i o n m a n a g e r Tong Ros production @ artsandactivities.com

Environments.” It has “all the elements I find exemplary in a lesson,” he writes, “all students can be successful, there is latitude for student interpretation and, for me, the lesson has continued to morph and grow.”

HOW TO REACH ARTS & ACTIVITIES Subscription Services To subscribe, renew, change an address or buy single copies,

visit artsandactivities.com, contact subs@artsandactivities.com or call (866) 278-7678.

Letters to the Editor Letters pertaining to magazine content and art education in

Listen to that chameleon ... it is the right time to roll out the clay. No matter which grade level you teach, you'll find classroom-tested lesson ideas for clay on the following pages. Get rolling!

general are welcomed. Arts & Activities reserves the right to edit all letters for space and clarity. Send to ed@artsandactivities.com

Manuscripts Subjects dealing with art-education practice at the elementary and secondary levels, teacher education and uses of community resources, are invited. Materials are handled with care; however, publisher assumes no responsibility for loss or damage. Unsolicited material must be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. For Writer’s Guidelines, visit artsandactivities.com/submit/writers-guidelines/ Address all materials to the attention of the Editor. Simultaneous submissions will not be considered or accepted. Indexes Articles are indexed in January and June issues. Issues of Arts & Activities are available on microfilm and photocopies from: ProQuest Information and Learning, P.O. Box 1346, 300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48106. (Issues beginning with January 1977 are available in microfiche.) The full text of Arts & Activities is also available in the electronic versions of the Education Index. Copyright Permissions Reproduction of any portion of this magazine without written

permission is prohibited. Contact the Editor at the address shown below or the email address to the left or contact Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, copyright.com.

The opinions and recommendations expressed by individual authors within this magazine are not necessarily those of Publishers’ Development Corp.

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Stepping Stones is a monthly column that breaks down seemingly daunting tasks into simple, manageable “steps” that any art educator can take and apply directly to their classroom. Stepping Stones will explore a variety of topics and share advice for art-on-a-cart teachers and those with art rooms.

SPRING ART SHOWS IN YOUR COMMUNITY

BY HEIDI O'HANLEY

pringtime is always a popular time for school districts to host an art show within their buildings. After a few quarters (or a full semester), it’s enough time to gather a mass amount of artwork for display. Spring art shows are also a good way to demonstrate the students’ growth over time to parents and administrators, which is a nice add-on to your evaluations while demonstrating your efforts. On top of it all, you get to brag about your students’ artistic achievements!

ORGANIZING ARTWORKS. Speaking of saving all

the artwork throughout the school year, there’s a matter of how to store it until the big date! Ever y teacher has their own method of storage that works for them. Some use portfolios for each class, others utilize color-coded clips for projects, and some set up portable shelves for temporar y storage. With saving projects over a period of a few months, make sure you create a method of organization with projects that can easily be prepared for setting up for the show, taking down after the show, and passing back to students in a timely manner.

CREATING LABELS FOR THE ARTWORKS. Prior to set-

ting up the show, prepare a method of creating labels that are less time-consuming and can be displayed with the artwork. One way is to create a Doc with a list of student names, which can be printed on sticker labels. I’ve seen many teachers use this method for preparing labels that look professional for art shows. You can also save the Doc for the following year’s show, which saves you from re-typing all the names each year. Another method is having students sign their names on their artwork (just like the artist masters), which is a nice personal touch. This can save you plenty of time from creating individual labels. With each project displayed, you can easily create a description that can hang with the artworks.

REACH OUT TO THE LOCAL COMMUNITY. There are

many ways to create community connections with an art show! Your students’ show is a great way to share their work with the local community. After collecting and labeling all your student work, you may consider securing a location outside of the school and within the community. Recently, our district has been showcasing our student art contest winners at the local community center, where the public can 6

come to see the amazing artworks our students created! Other locations that connect with your community can be your local library, park district, village hall, or arts center. All you need to do is reach out to bridge that connection. For example, when the Jr. High art teacher and I discovered that we each had a state art contest winner, we asked our local library if they could display the student artwork for all the winners in the state for a period of time. They were happy to discuss and provide the opportunity.

REACH OUT TO LOCAL ARTISTS, ART STUDIOS OR ART CENTERS. Another way to connect to the local com-

munity would be to invite a local artist to view the student artwork, or even collaborate with your students at the show. This helps your students to learn about and meet working artists, which helps them to explore career opportunities in the arts. Local art centers or studios have also worked in conjunction with school districts to promote local art programs, continuing classes outside of school, and art activities for art show attendees. There may also be a few non-profit makerspaces who may also wish to collaborate with creativity stations!

PROMOTE YOUR STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENTS! So how do you plan on advertising your art show? The most common ways to do so with your school is through a weekly newsletter, Twitter, Instagram, the local newspaper, or invitations that can be sent home. As a parent, I love receiving a personalized invite featuring my children’s achievements. If you are working in collaboration with a local community/ arts center or artist, you can work with them on promoting a joint event, which could spread to even more potential art show attendees.

AFTER THE SHOW. Once your show is finished and

artwork is ready to pass back, consider the potential for displaying student work in more places than just your art show. Contact your local village hall, library or arts center and ask if student work can be displayed throughout the remaining school year. Without putting additional work on your already full palette, it takes little time to create temporary displays that can hold artworks for a brief period of time. If you use Artsonia, family and friends (fan club members) who were unable to attend art shows in person can view the artwork digital images, add comments, and purchase items to help support your school. n Arts & Activities Contributing Editor, Heidi O’Hanley (NBCT), teaches art at Brodnicki Elementary School in Justice, Illinois. Visit her blog at www.talesfromthetravelling artteacher.blogspot.com. f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 9 • 86 Y E A R S

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Art is at the Core offers tips on integrating for visual art teachers and teachers of other subjects. Arts-integrated lessons offer students the opportunity to meet objectives in art disciplines and other subjects. Arts integration strengthens traditional core classes, but does not replace art-specific courses.

BARRINGTON WATSON ‘CONVERSATION’

BY AMANDA KOONLABA

arrington Watson (1931–2016) was a Jamaican artist who first came into the spotlight as a football [soccer] player at Kingston College. After traveling extensively, he returned to Jamaica to become the Director of Studies at the Jamaica School of Art. He also cofounded the Contemporary Jamaican Artists’ Association. Below are ideas for integrating Barrington Watson’s 1981 painting, Conversation, with other subjects.

HEADLINES. Have students view the artwork for one minute without talking. Then, provide minimal background knowledge. Essentially, you should only share the name of the work and the brief bio of the artist. Allow them to continue to view the work while they complete this activity. Have them work with a group of no more than three to create a headline to accompany the image. This requires creative thinking! For example, the women could be having a conversation about local news. Perhaps the headline could read, “Restaurant Owner Offends Local Patrons.” The headlines, which do not have to be completely accurate since you are not providing much background, will activate thinking that both provokes questions and forces students to use visual information to make decisions.

WRITING ABOUT ART. Have the students use their

headlines to write a fictional blog post about the event. The students can continue to work with their partners to develop the content, or they can work independently. Use your discretion and teaching context to determine what best suits the needs of your students. Have them go through the entire writing process. They can use a graphic organizer to develop the main idea and details. Tell them to be sure to include quotations from the people who are involved in their work of fiction. They can even give names to the women in the artwork. Allow them time to write a rough draft, solicit peer feedback, edit and revise.

ART-MAKING. Students will be eager to create their

own work once they have written their pieces about the image. Have students use the elements of drama/ theatre to work as a team to create a tableau that tells a stor y. You can select stories for the students or have them recreate one they are familiar with. Go to artsandactivities.com and click on this button for resources related to this article. www.ar tsandactivities.com

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For example, you might give one group a sheet of paper with the following story written on it: Two men are walking a dog when they notice it is about to rain. The students could create a tableau of one student on hands and knees as a dog, another standing on tiptoes with arms in the air showing an excitable expression about the weather, and another student squatting just a bit with one hand over their head to protect from the impending rain. Allow the students to photograph each other’s tableau. Have the groups share with the whole class as their classmates try to guess their story. Once the students have completed this activity, they can use their photographs to draw their own images. They should focus on proportion

Have them work with a group of no more than three to create a headline to accompany the image. This requires creative thinking! with the figures. Tell them to think about height and how each section of each figure relates to the rest according to size. They can use any medium to add color.

WRITING AGAIN. This entire lesson sequence is great for getting students engaged in the writing process. It also allows multiple opportunities for them to write routinely over extended time frames. Students have already created a blog post with a headline as a writing exercise. For the next step, have them extend the story they started with for their tableau. If they wrote about a familiar story, have them change key plot points to create an entirely different story. For instance, if the students chose a fairy tale like Little Red Riding Hood as their familiar story, have them change the main character and the destination. Have them think about how those changes would impact the overall plot and use that to develop their own work. n

Arts & Activities Contributing Editor, Amanda Koonlaba (NBCT), is a Curriculum Specialist and Teaching Artist from Saltillo, Mississippi. The activities described in “Art is at the Core” may encompass Common Core State Standards for Math, the English Language Arts Anchor Standards of Writing, Speaking and Listening, and the Next Generation Science Standards Performance Based Expectations of Science and Engineering Practices for Analyzing and Interpreting Data. They also encompass the National Arts Standards processes of Creating and Responding. Please refer to particular grade-level standards for specifics.—A.K. 7

media reviews

PENCIL DRAWING: CATS: An Easy Step-by-Step Guide for Learning to Draw Cats and Kittens, by Anja Dahl, translated by Jessica West. Walter Foster Publishing, $18.99. In 2017 about 47 million households in the United States owned cats. The demand for memes and videos featuring felines has made them some of the most viewed on the entire web. Although its publisher claims this paperback is for “the absolute beginner,” is it any wonder that we can appreciate its popularity with many others? Intermediate students through cat-loving adults will enjoy this instruction book. The author calls kitties those “gentle, mystical creatures.” One from Walter Foster’s Art Made Easy! list, the book is replete with a bonanza of professional photographs of cats, often full-page color shots. Quota-

BOOKS • DVDs • PRINTS • RESOURCES Jerome J. Hausman • Paula Guhin

tions and proverbs on the subject run throughout the pages, as well as exercises. Of the latter, those regarding color, pattern, texture, and motion are especially rewarding. In the projects chapter with its directions for reproducing five artworks, the white-on-black is eye-catching and jazzy. While some educators prefer drawing from life, Ms. Dahl refers to her own photographs in creating her art. She’s a German jackof-all-art-trades: oil painter, sculptor, and skilled illustrator. (Dahl was the author of a previous workshop-type book on drawing animals.) As befits one who loves the earth’s creatures, she has contributed to

environmental organizations in Europe. The book includes a wide variety of long- and short-hair types of cats with their distinctive coats and features. It ends with a five-page gallery of smaller cat photos of all kinds. Once the neophyte artist has practiced and gained more confidence in drawing cats, he or she might make things personal by sketching the family feline or one from the neighborhood.–P.G. POCKET ART, PORTRAIT DRAWING: The Quick Guide to Mastering Technique and Style, by Miss Led, a.k.a. Joanna Henly. Rockport Publishers, $17.99. Miss Led (a pseudonym) is good. Her book is an all-too-brief find, a tiny treasure trove. Her name is Joanna Henly and she’s a prolific painter, illustrator and art director who lives in East London. She has done murals, fashion and cosmetics illustrations, commissioned portraits and far more than we can mention here. See her website for a peek at her gift. Yes, the book is undersized and portable, but it’s far more accurate and correct than some other “cute faces” howtos with their oversized eyes and tiny mouths and chins. Henly wants the artist to consider the skull beneath the face, and the musculature, as any good educator would. For more proof of the importance of realistic dimensions, see her many diagrams on proportions, with guidelines and text regarding facial relationships. Furthermore, readers will find different ethnic faces, a variety of ages and genders, and a number of angles and expressions. Frowns! A surprised face! Girls with braiding and guys with whiskers. The two pages about drawing a child’s face left us wanting more— more kids, other views—but Portrait Drawing is a terrific little guide.–P.G.

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BAMBOO TOOLS For centuries, bamboo pottery tools have been the most widely used by production potters in the Orient. Bamboo is a great material for pottery tools for a number of reasons: it is a durable, flexible and lightweight; it can be readily shaped with a sharp knife and will hold an edge that stands up to heavy use; it is naturally water-resistant; and it is a wise environmental choice. Left-handed potters will be interested to know that Bamboo Tools has created several unique, “reflected” shapes designed specifically for them.

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Yearlong Secondary Curriculum Series | 3D INTRO ART

ARTICLE 6 OF 10

Clay Vessels by Debi West

just love clay! And better yet, our kids LOVE clay! I don’t think it matters what the age, every student enjoys creating with clay. And then, they don’t. They assume they are going to create something amazing, but the reality is, if you just set them free, they often get stuck, so I have found that it is always a good thing to give kids a free clay day before I start an actual project. PASSING OUT THE CLAY is always

entertaining. I cut slabs and toss them out after kids have their burlap and tools sitting on their tables, ready for “Clay Day.” Then I quickly walk kids through wedging, making a quick pinch pot, creating coils, working with slabs and just experimenting with this new media. I encourage them to use the tools to play with additive and subtractive techniques, slipping and scoring, and just have fun! It’s always awesome to see your high schoolers

become excited kids again! As students are learning about pinch pots, I walk them through this technique by making a clay ball that fits into their hand, and then using their thumbs and slowly turning the ball, they form a pinch pot. It’s a simple technique but a few of my students often have a tough time making their first pinch pot, so by giving them this free experimental day, they have the opportunity to learn and grow.

When the experimenting is done, we spend about 10 minutes practicing our clay cleanup and that’s how it all starts. But, then what? What’s the best clay project to push your students’ creativity and allow them to be successful? Over my years of teaching, I have found that clay vessels that combine

AS STUDENTS BEGIN WORKING with

clay coils, I model for them how to form ropelike coils by rolling the clay in both hands, and then assembling these on top of each other to build up a wall. As students begin the slab technique, they take smooth slabs of clay that are formed by rolling out the clay and then cutting off the sides or pieces and attaching them together to create pots, cups or urns.

Over the years, I have found that clay vessels that combine pinch-pot, coiling and slab techniques work best for my kiddos.

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ARTICLE 6 OF 10

3D INTRO ART CURRICULUM SERIES

Clay Vessels LEARNING OBJECTIVES

MATERIALS

High school students will ... • learn how to make clay slab and coil vessels (containers) reiterating form and function in 3D artworks • experiment with various clay techniques as they hand build their vessels. • learn about glazes and chemical reactions used in ceramic art.

• Clay • Clay tools • Glazes, brushes • Kiln • Reference materials for inspiration

PROCEDURES 1. Students learn about different claybuilding techniques, such as slab and coil. 2. Students build a slab container using the slip-and-score method. 3. Students add coils to their vessels, as well as cutout slab shapes if needed, for their design. 4. Students hand build their vessels,

experimenting with ceramic techniques learning through the process. 5. Students fire their greenware in the kiln. 6. Students glaze their bisqueware to add color and a “liquid glass” effect. 7. Students fire their pieces once again. 8. The clay vessels will be displayed in a case for the community to enjoy.

ASSESSMENT I use a project evaluation form for each lesson I teach. This allows my students to appropriately reflect on the learning at hand and leaves room for them to comment on the process and how they feel the final piece turned out. It also allows me to comment and give them a grade based on their learning and their final work. We also do in-process critiques using my “2 Glows and a Grow” model.

Go to artsandactivities.com and click on this button for resources related to this article.

these techniques seem to work best for my kiddos. I make the actual lesson relatively open-ended. I require them to select a slab base or a pinch-pot base. From this point, they are encouraged to combine coil and slab techniques to create a unique and lovely clay vessel. As students are working on their clay building skills, they’re learning to use their hands to smooth the clay, form the shapes and become true sculptors. I also remind them that they will be glazing their vessels using liquid glass, which they absolutely love. Throughout the lesson we discuss the clay stages from slip, wet, leather hard, bone dr y, greenware, bisque to the final stages of glazing. We also

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discuss the kiln, stilts and the firing process, and it is at this point that my 3D artists really begin to surface! Students absolutely feel empowered and excited about the learning and the art they have created! Next up … Environmental Installations—Background, Middle Ground, Foreground! n Arts & Activities Contributing Editor Debi West recently retired from her job as department chair and art educator at North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee, Georgia. She owns and operates WESTpectations Educational Consulting and she and her husband now reside in Hilton Head, South Carolina. 11

Pinch-Pot

Animal Bowls by Irv Osterer

Laura’s crab required the careful addition of two claws and multiple legs, which, in turn, needed to be supported by clay “stilts” until the piece reached the leather-hard stage.

Brianna’s whimsical cow needed a pinch pot with a flatter bottom area for balance.

eachers at all levels introducing clay to their classrooms often struggle to find an exciting introductory project to build construction skills and confidence with the medium. The pinch pot is always a good place to start. Students learn to feel the clay and determine what it will and will not do. They also learn that clay is less plastic over time. Slowly rotating the clay between the thumb and the forefinger is the easiest way to make a pinch pot. Students and teachers must be prepared to have students restart this project a few times until a comfort level with the material and the creation of a small symmetrical pot is reached. This assignment extends the pinch pot into a sculptural event. Students were told to transform their simple pots into zoological forms capable of holding nuts or candy. Students considered different ways of integrating animal forms into their pinch-pot bowls, looking at Egyptian, Inca and Mayan samples for inspiration. IT IS GOOD PRACTICE to have students sketch their ideas—

as even the simplest drawing will give one an idea how to proceed after the basic pinch pot is achieved. Through this exercise, students can conference with teachers to become better acquainted with what is possible with clay and what supports are needed to realize a particular project. Brianna’s whimsical cow needed a pinch pot with a flatter bottom area for balance, while Laura’s ambitious crab 12

required the careful addition of two claws and multiple legs—which in turn needed to be supported by clay “stilts” until the piece reached the leather hard stage. For Kaitlyn’s owl, it was decided that two pinch pots, slipped together would provide the basic structure. For pieces like Max’s fish, it was clear that important texture elements would need to be addressed while the clay was still approaching the leather hard stage. AFTER THE COMPLETION OF THE PINCH-POT FORMS, the technique of joining pieces of clay with slip can be introduced to add distinct features—arms, legs, tail, heads and other weird and wonderful appendages. At this scale, it is not necessary about worrying that shapes are hollow—but students should be alerted about the problems of trapping air that would cause their work to shatter in the kiln. Students were cautioned about using water to smooth f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 9 • 86 Y E A R S

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To finish their projects, students used a combination of underglaze and clear glaze.

Using a needle tool, Max precisely adds fine texture to his fish.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

High school students will … • recognize that a ceramic piece can also be decorative and utilitarian. • demonstrate expertise with the coil and pinch clay construction. • will be able to identify clay that is plastic, leather hard and bone dry. • create slip from dry clay and use it to attach clay parts. • understand the use and importance of the kiln. • use underglaze and glaze effectively.

MATERIALS

• •

Stoneware clay Clay tools, kiln

•

Underglazes, clear glaze, brushes

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Two pinch pots were joined to provide the basic structure for this owl.

out cracks and surfaces. The addition of water to a localized area on a clay sculpture will cause that area to dry slower than the rest of the figure, and unless some very creative drying solutions are devised, the result is often cracking, imperfect joins or in some case breakage during firing. To finish their projects, students used a combination of underglaze and clear glaze. Underglaze fires to a matte finish and can be applied using sponges, stencils and is particularly useful with brushes to add fine detail. Underglaze colors can be mixed and/or watered down to use as a stain. It is important to refer to sample charts, as the color of the raw underglaze rarely reflects how it will appear after firing. It is possible to apply underglaze on greenware (unfired clay) and then use a variety of tools to scratch the surface so that the color of the clay is exposed after firing. This approach is quite effective with stoneware. Underglaze application after bisque firing offers a few more options, as the clay can no longer be reactivated

Kaitlyn applies underglaze to her owl.

with water. A damp sponge can be used to remove underglaze applied to the surface of the sculpture so that the coloring agent remains only in the textured and recessed areas. Students can then selectively add clear glaze to the areas that they wished to appear shiny. This project came to a sweet end when, for presentation at our annual art show, the pinch-pot animals were filled with jelly beans to the delight of all who passed by the display. n Arts & Activities Contributing Editor Irv Osterer is Department Head – Fine Arts and Technology at Merivale High School in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 13

Symbolic Ceramic L

ike many art educators, I have struggled to find ways to provide new and engaging activities to help students make meaningful art and talk about it to their peers and teachers. Clay is an inexpensive and effective way to get students to openly communicate through their art what they may be feeling or experiencing. In one of the art methods courses I teach at West Virginia University, I worked with area art teachers to create a lesson centered around having middle schoolers create symbolic ceramic totem pole sculptures. My students designed the lesson we piloted at a rural middle school, which included using clay to visually communicate their emotions. The vocabulary words used in the project were shape, form and symbols through the concept of storytelling. The projects were successful as students reflected in their journals their artistic process, and later shared the meaning behind their totem pole symbols with their peers and teachers. STARTING WITH A PRESENTATION on traditional totem poles, the students studied symbolism of animals. The teachers provided examples of artists who used clay as a way to communicate emotions, such as artist Lee Yun Hee, whose narrative works include persons experiencing fear and anxiety. Many students had never been exposed to this type of sculpture before and were very interested in the works they saw. We began the process by having students pick objects that symbolized things that had personal meaning to them. The students drew sketches in their journals on what they wanted their totem pole to look like and shared their ideas with their peers. The teachers looked at the journals to make

LEARNING OBJECTIVES Middle school students will … • use tools and materials to show mastery craftsmanship with clay. • learn about the narrative storytelling of ceramic Korean artist Lee Yun Hee. • demonstrate how to use clay to form symbols that have personal meaning.

NATIONAL ART STANDARDS

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CREATING: Conceive and develop new artistic ideas and work. RESPONDING: Experiment with clay to create personal narratives that reflect their interests and emotions.

MATERIALS

• • • • •

Pencils, journals Low fire clay, clay carving tools, glazing medium Acrylic Paints, brushes Super glue Long wooden skewers or dowel rods, 5" x 5" foam core blocks

sure the objects could easily be created and fired, and provided feedback and tips for creating the shapes. Once the sketches were approved and finalized, the students were taught how to manipulate the clay and use the tools to create the shapes of the symbols they chose. One teacher demonstrated how to carve the clay into the forms they wanted, while the other teachers worked individually with students helping them to craft the clay and make sure pieces were hollowed out to avoid exploding in the kiln later. ONCE STUDENTS SKEWERED the pieces to poke holes through

the forms, they painted and glazed their pieces. It took quite some time to get each piece sculpted, glazed and fired, as it was important to make sure each piece had a proper-sized hole in it so they could be assembled once they cooled. If the paint became smudged in this process, students touched up their pieces before they went into the kiln. It was also important to check that students had not assembled their totem poles onto the wooden skewers before they go into the kiln, since the skewers can burn during firing. The finished pieces were then loaded into the kiln for firing. Once the forms cooled, students stuck wooden skewers into 5" x 5" black foam-core squares, then carefully assembled their poles by placing each piece in the proper order. Probably the most difficult part of the process was getting students to understand that their forms would need to be assembled after the kiln firing. Students needed to consider weight and balance, making sure their forms were not too heavy to put onto the skewers. As students stacked their poles, some realized they should have made their holes wider through the pieces. Sometimes they discovered they had to arrange their totem poles differently from the sketches they made, as placing the heavier pieces on top became an issue. In some of these cases, super glue became their friend. THE PROJECT BECAME THE PERFECT way to introduce middle

schoolers to techniques for building clay sculptures, and to artists who used clay forms and symbols to communicate emotions. The activity created a safe place for students to reflect on their feelings about themselves, and learn about another culture. Their reflections of the various stages of the activity showed how focused they were during each step. And, the students’ pieces turned out beautifully. n Terese Giobbia, PhD, is the Coordinator of the Art Education/ Visual Arts Therapy programs at West Virginia University in Morgantown. This project was conducted at a middle school in Davis, West Virginia.

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Totem Poles

by Terese Giobbia

A symbol of mothering, a turtle was chosen by this student to represent herself because it is how she feels with her friends. The blue house represents her family in better times, while the broken heart symbolizes divorce. The intact heart represents the love from friends and her mother, which helped her get through all of it. The world on top is her future, which she hopes will stay whole.

Family, church and friends: This student has positive influences in her life that encourage her and help her stay strong as she plans her future as a teacher and having a family of her own.

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Here, the student depicted herself as a bird —free and full of knowledge. The cloud represents change, and the basketball symbolizes teamwork and friendship. FC33 is her soccer team, which has kept her focused on her goals, and the alien represents “the mystery of the future.”

Peeps by students at West Newton Elementary School in Indianapolis. Tracey Suchy, art teacher.

PEEPS of the WORLD, UNITE! Decorative peephole

plugs for the classroom kiln

by David L. Gamble

any of you have attended state art-education conferences through the years. They are great places to meet with fellow art teachers and see firsthand new and different art projects that you can use/adapt in your classroom. I’ve presented many hands-on clay projects and kiln lectures at these conferences in an attempt to assuage any fears one might have in working with clay and firing kilns. Questions have always been welcome and varied— from the simple to the quite complex. Often in my workshops, or while in the Skutt booth at these conferences, I have been asked, “Do you have any of those clay plugs for the kiln? Mine are missing (or broken). Do I need really them?” For more than a decade now, I have been able to reply with my own question: “Do you know about our Peep Show? No, no ... not that kind ...” Then, before their minds stray too far, I quickly tell them about how they can have their students create their own peephole plugs. Art teachers who do a lot of clay with their students and have experience firing kilns get it quickly and always start to smile. CREATING FUNCTIONING (AND FUN) plugs that fit into the peephole on a kiln is a small ceramic project students will enjoy. Not only will they be using their imaginations, they will be exercising their math skills in factoring the percentage of the wet clay’s shrinkage that will take place during 16

“Peep Show” plug by artist/teacher Patricia Walker.

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ORIGIN OF THE PEEP SHOW The “Peep Show” was created to feature small ceramic pieces created by students and artists in the Skutt booth at the annual National Art Education Association (NAEA) and National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) conventions. There is also a traveling show, which displays over 100 Peeps from ar tists of all ages, which is held in various galleries, distributors’ show rooms, and other venues around the U.S. So, every spring, when the NAEA and NCECA conventions roll around, we know that we will see Peeps that make us smile, perhaps even chuckle.

This year, NAEA will be in BOSTON MARCH 14–16 and NCECA will be in MINNEAPOLIS MARCH 27–30.

Doughnut by student at Fletcher High School in Neptune Beach, Florida.

Beehive by student at Brandenton Christian High School in Bradenton, Florida. Debbie Snow, art teacher.

Hyper-realistic spigot by artist and teacher Vijay Paniker. The sky’s the limit for Peep themes, and this space helmet is a great example.

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STAR IN THE PEEP SHOW! Register online before the Jan. 31, 2019 deadline K–12 Teachers (NAEA): skutt.com/k-12-teachers-naea/ Potters (NCECA): skutt.com/potters-nceca/

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drying and firing. The goal is to make a finished plug that will fit nicely into the peepholes of kilns. You may be wondering what the function of a peephole is. Well, the peephole and its plug play an important part in the firing of your kiln. The peephole has a few functions: 1. It allows moisture that is driven off by the heat to escape the kiln. 2. It also allows oxygen into the kiln, which helps burn out organic material during the slow bisque. This is important because if the organic materials are not all burnt off, they will again burn off during the glaze fire, producing gas that can cause glaze defects. 3. The hole provides a way to look into the kiln at different levels (always use eye protection) to see well-placed pyrometric cones that measure the “heat work” (time and temperature) that has occurred. These cones are accurate and provide useful information that A kiln’s peepholes are multifunctional: they provide a way to look into the kiln, allow moisture to escape the kiln, and they allow oxygen into the kiln, which helps burn out organic material.

M OF THE CONE WISDO Pyrometric cones have been around since late 1896. They are formulated from many ceramic materials and are designed to bendat certain temperatures. Pyrometric cones candeliver accurate readings on the heat work created in a kiln, measuring the relationship of both time and temperature absorbed by the ceramic ware.

allows you to make adjustments to your kiln sitters and firing schedules, and check the accuracy of your controllers to help you create more consistent and accurate firings. Remember that the mass of the load and how it is arranged in the kiln can affect firing times and how even the kiln fires from top to bottom (see above for more about cones). PEEP THEMES AND IDEAS run the gamut—from baseball

gloves, animals, and lips, to faces, flowers and spaceships. We have seen flying pigs and, yes, even those Peeps we see at Eastertime. All have been highly creative and all of them have been successful. We hope you’ll join the Peep Show this year. Peeps of the world, unite! n For over 30 years, David L. Gamble has been involved with ceramic arts, businesses and education. He continues to make clay art and teaches throughout the U.S. and abroad.

HOW TO MAKE A PEEPHOLE PLUG Your Peep needs to be made of ceramic clay, lowfire cone 06-04, mid range cone 4–7, or high fire clay cone 10, fired and functional (any fired clay). It must fit into a peephole’s opening (1.25-inch opening tapering to 0.75 of an inch). The tapered part of the plug should be about 1.75 to 2 inches long and needs to support the plug while in the peephole.

STEP 2: Keep in mind that clay appendages that stick out too far become very fragile and will dry faster than the rest of your Peep and can crack and fall off easily. Many clay octopus tentacles and deer antlers have bitten the dust in a project like this. Plastic bags or wrap can be used to slow the drying process and help prevent cracks.

STEP 1: Model about ½ to ¾ of a pound of clay with the plug part sized to allow for shrinkage. With the decorative part attached to the wide end of the plug, your piece should be about 3 to 4 inches long. Modeling can be done from one piece of clay and/or attachments can be applied. Be sure to score and slip attachments well to your Peep. Those with throwing skills can throw parts or the entire peephole plug. For best results, the thickness of the clay walls should be constructed evenly to allow even dr ying and less cracking issues.

STEP 3: To support your Peep while

creating it, cut the bottom out of a paper or foam cup and flip it upside down. The tapered end of the Peep can be inserted into the hole, and the decorative end is accessible and can be worked on. STEP 4: Underglaze on the functional part of the Peep is

okay ONLY if the plug is going to be functional and used in the peephole of a kiln that is low fired. Be careful! Some underglaze colors can melt at the cone 6–10 range, which could cause them to become attached to the inside of the peephole brick. Also, DO NOT apply any glazes to the plunger/plug part of the Peep. If you apply glaze there, the plug could be glazed permanently into the kiln’s peephole. The plug’s decorative end that extends outside the kiln, of course, may be glazed. STEP 5: If your Peeps are solid, they should be dried and fired very slowly. Use pinched clay supports or kiln posts to support your Peeps if needed in the bisque and glaze firings. f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 9 • 86 Y E A R S

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A&A Art Print: Respond and Connect Water Jar, c. 1880. Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico.

“You’re always talking to the pot when you are making it—telling it your feelings—and when you finish a pot you blow life into it and it is given life.” Wanda Aragon, Acoma Potter from Acoma and Laguna Pottery, by Rick Dillingham

MAIN VISUAL ART CONCEPTS: Line • Pattern • Space • Movement • Color

•

THE ACOMA (pronounced “AH-coma”) people settled atop a 365-foot mesa more than 1,000 years ago. Three villages comprise the Pueblo (town): Sky City or Old Acoma, Acomita, and McCartys. Acoma Pueblo is located about 60 miles West of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

•

FORM AND FUNCTION: This jar was designed primarily to carry water. Photographer Edward Curtis is famous for his documentation of various Native American peoples in the early 1900s. In his photograph, Acoma Water Girls, we can see similar pieces on the heads of the girls. It was only after the 1940s that ceramic objects such as this were considered works of art, and individual authorship became a factor in the value of the pieces. GEOLOGY: The clay used by Acoma artists is dug nearby the Pueblo. First it is cleaned of organic material, dried, and then pulverized into a fine powder. Pieces of old pottery are also pulverized and added to the new clay in order to “temper” it. All the powder is then soaked and brought to the correct consistency by careful drying and kneading. The process is labor intensive, but fine pieces will last thousands of years if fired and stored under the right conditions. BOTANY: Yuck, it’s Yucca: The yucca plant makes a beautiful brush that can apply very fine lines on pottery. Usually the brush maker chews the end of a yucca leaf to get rid of all the green material. What remains are long, supple fibers. Artists who have made such brushes advise chewing outside because the bitter taste of the yucca will inspire spitting. There is a wonderful film titled Daughters of the Anasazi that shows the well-known and respected 20th-century Acoma potter Lucy Lewis (c.1895–1992) and her daughters making yucca brushes.

MAKING PROCESS AND CONNOISSEURSHIP: Traditionally, Pueblo pottery (which includes Acoma pottery) is all handmade using the coil technique, and wood- or dung-fired outdoors. With the advent of electric potter’s wheels, slip casting and digital kilns, many Pueblo potters have changed their methods, but some collectors will not purchase or sell “machine-made” Pueblo objects. There are good reasons for makers and buyers to consider all aspects of production and choose according to their values.

• •

•

Views of the water jar in the round.

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SYMBOLISM: Although the marks are lyrical and distinct, they may or may not have specific significance. Some designs are documented and others are not. Some common symbols might be: Hatching=rain, stepped motifs=clouds, double dots=raindrops. ANATOMY: A pottery vessel has an anatomy similar to a human: Mouth Lip

Neck

Shoulder Belly

Foot

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SLIP: After an Acoma potter makes a piece, she (for the most part, Pueblo pottery is matriarchal) will paint the entire outer surface with a liquid mixture of clay called “slip.” In this case, the slip is white. On top of that, the designs are painted and the white slip helps all the marks adhere to the pottery. The colors are derived from minerals (manganese, iron and copper, for example) and plants (Cleome serrulata, commonly known as Navajo spinach or Rocky Mountain bee plant) in the area.

•

POLYCHROME POTTERY is, literally, pottery with “many colors.” The traditional colors are black, red, white, yellow and grey. Often, more colors will make a piece more valuable. However, complexity of design and clear documentation about the maker will also add to the value of Acoma Pottery. PHYSICS: “Tempering” is a process of heating and cooling an object in a systematic way so that the object is harder or more durable. Acoma pottery is very thin, so artists temper it (through firing and with the addition of previously fired pieces of clay) to be strong and lightweight enough for carrying water long distances. A familiar example of tempering is the glass used for passenger car windows. It is tempered for safety reasons so it will break into small chunks instead of sharp spikes.

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FEBRUARY 2019

Water Jar, c. 1880. Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico. Ceramic; 10" x 12.25". The Metropolitan Museum of Art, / Public domain. New York. Â©

In the Studio: Create and Present Annotations and lesson connections on these pages by Tara Cady Sartorius, Program Director, Alabama Arts Alliance

GRADES K–6

GRADES 7-12

POLYCHROME PUEBLO POTTERY. The fifth-grade students of

THE LEGACY OF LUCY LEWIS. Teacher Christina Salinas proved the value of travel and exploration through this lesson. She says, “This work was inspired by a road trip to the Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico where I met Emma and Dolores Lewis, the daughters of Lucy Lewis, an acclaimed Acoma potter.” Lewis used only traditional techniques and contributed to the fame and appreciation of Acoma pottery. During her visit, Salinas purchased two pieces: a coil pot and a small sculpture of a turtle. She then used her experience and subsequent research to develop the lesson that yielded the spectacular student pieces below.

Madalene Klepach developed their own designs derived from their obser vations of Hopi potter y. These striking works are imaginative interpretations of polychrome (multi-colored) potter y.

Hopi-inspired pottery designs by 5th-grade students of Madalene Klepach (now retired) from Whitney Elementary School in Strongsville, Ohio.

Klepach limited the students’ color choices to red, black and white so the pottery stands out in contrast to the brown earth tones of the desert backgrounds. It is fun to compare the scale of the pottery in contrast with their backgrounds. Some pieces could be huge outdoor monuments! NATIONAL ART STANDARDS: Grade 5 CREATE: Combine ideas to generate an innovative idea for art

making. RESPOND: Identify and analyze cultural associations suggested by visual imagery. CONNECT: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural and historical context to deepen understanding.

Acoma-inspired pottery by high school students of Christina Salinas from Del Mar High school in San Jose, California.

In order to make it faster and easier for students to create their ceramic forms, Salinas devised a way for them to form clay using a metal bowl and two slabs that they scored and slipped together. Students found the slab method “easier than using the traditional coil method, demonstrated and used by the Lewis family. This modification made it so all beginning students could work with clay and create a successful pot.” While they did not use natural slips and stains, they did use underglazes that they left unglazed so that the final pieces would have traditional-looking matte surfaces.

How to use the A&A Monthly Art Print: Carefully unbend the staples at the center of the magazine, pull the print up and out of the magazine. Rebend staples to keep magazine intact. Laminate the pulled-out section and use it as a resource in your art room. — Editor

NATIONAL ART STANDARDS: High School CREATE: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.

Choose from a range of materials and methods of traditional and contemporary artistic practices to plan works of art and design CONNECT: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding. •

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WHERE I’M FROM Narratives in Clay by Tera Stockdale

ow can meaningful personal narratives be explored through 3D works of art? Working with a uniquely diverse international student population, my goal with this project was to prompt the many immigrant and refugee students to share their rich history and experience through the arts. Using simple ceramic slab construction techniques, students created a versatile surface on which to display imagery to tell their stories.

Work by Alba, from Peru. Work by Tolo, from République de Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast).

IN THIS LESSON, students con-

structed five- or six-sided boxes in which they employed the use of multiple surface decoration techniques—silk-screening, stenciling, photo decals, hand painting, and sgraffito. They began by brainstorming memories of senses (smells, sounds, tastes, etc.), family members, activities, sayings, childhood homes (surroundings and contents), family traditions and music to create their written narratives. Students then created original “Where I’m From” poems based on the work of George Ella Lyons to articulate their experiences and memories and originate ways to convey them visually. USING THE SLAB BOX as their vehicles, students presented their unique histories, cultures, identities and life stories through visual poetry—combining photos, text, original designs, and found images through both 2D design and sculptural work. After constructing their slab boxes, students were given choice in surface techniques to create and arrange their imagery connecting to their self-identified narratives telling their personal histories. Students chose between original designs, see www.ar tsandactivities.com

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES High school students will … • articulate personal narratives. • connect their written narratives to their visual narratives. • connect imagery to sensory memory. • learn and demonstrate ceramic slab-construction techniques. • learn and apply a variety of surface decoration techniques.

NATIONAL ART STANDARDS

• •

CREATE: Use multiple approaches to begin creative endeavors. RESPOND: Analyze how one’s understanding of the world is affected by experiencing visual imagery. • CONNECT: Document the process of developing ideas from early stages to fully elaborated ideas. • Describe how knowledge of culture, traditions and history may influence personal responses to art.

MATERIALS

• Clay, glazes, brushes • Photo decal paper (FiredOn Images)

• Silkscreens, stencils • Rubber stamps, letters for text 23

his is the best thing I’ve ever made!” a middle-schooler proudly beamed as she held her completed Enchanted Environment. She was not necessarily saying this to anyone in particular as much as a declaration to herself. “Enchanted Environments” is a project that has evolved over the years. Coil pots made by second-graders to hold a moss garden started the ball rolling. These simple moss gardens escalated to more complex fairy gardens. The last incarnation—Enchanted Final projects featured soil, moss, pebbles and other natural materials.

Environments—elevated the project to a more middle school level. This project involves making a slab container resembling a tree stump, creating a small ceramic castle (or part of one) that creates an enticing focus and then, assembling the final project with soil, moss, pebbles and other natural materials. Five to six class sessions are needed for this project. THE TREE STUMP CERAMIC CONTAINER.

There are two options for making the container: a “white birch” stump or a “bark-textured” stump. Both begin with a circular slab base about 10 inches in diameter and ½ inch thick. For the sides, a 4-inch-high rectangular slab long enough to wrap around the circular base (about 2 feet long) is needed. A slab roller is an asset here, but rolling pins will suffice. For the white birch effect, terracotta clay is used. The circular and rectangular slabs are scored and slipped, and the rectangular piece is wrapped around the circular base, connecting them. A soft coil of ter24

Enchanted ENVIRONMENTS by Craig Hinshaw

racotta is pushed along the inside, further connecting the side and base. A quarter-size hole is then cut in the base for drainage. Note: A strong connection between the base and slab are essential, as the finished project can be heavy once dirt is added. White underglaze or a white slip is brushed liberally onto the outside of the terracotta container. A pencil is used to draw/etch short horizontal lines through the white slip. exposing the terracotta. Once dry, fire. No clear glaze is needed. Pictures of white birches or a real white birch section are appropriate visuals. For the textured bark effect, a piece of tree bark is pressed into the long side slab while it is still laying flat. Then it is scored, slipped and wrapped around the base as described above.

After bisque firing, a dark underglaze or red iron oxide is brushed over the bark-like texture. Then, a damp sponge is wiped over the surface, leaving the stain in the recesses, calling attention to the texture. Re-fire. TINY CASTLES. I’ve found the best moti-

vating visuals are my collection of small ceramic and plastic aquarium castles. Some of these are painted in pastel colors and some in dark realistic tones. No aquarium castles? Castle pictures as visuals will also work. Rectangles, squares, cones and cylinders are the castles’ basic components. Students create either a complete castle or only a par tial castle, such as a tower or gateway. Using small marble-sized pieces of clay, the geometric forms are shaped, rolled,

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

NATIONAL ART STANDARDS

Middle school students will … • learn and demonstrate the techniques necessary to make a functional ceramic slab constructed container. • develop techniques and a method to make a miniature clay castle that is visually enticing and forming the center piece of a work of art. • learn how to care for and maintain a moss garden.

MATERIALS

• •

Terracotta clay, clay tools White underglaze or white slip, low-fire glazes, brushes • Potting soil, moss, “natural” type materials such as pebbles, shells, sea glass, etc.

•

CREATING: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work. • ENDURING UNDERSTANDING: Artists and designers experiment with forms, structures, materials, concepts, media, and art-making approaches

CARING FOR A MOSS GARDEN I recommend students display their Enchanted Environments outside. At the end of the summer the moss can be returned to the woods. Also, their clay containers would not fare well outside during Michigan’s severe winters. If they want to maintain them inside, misting daily with a spray bottle should keep the moss healthy.

The tree stumps are made out of a circular slab bases about 10 inches in diameter and ½ inch thick, joined with a 4-inch-high rectangular slabs wrapped around them.

CREATING THE MAGIC. With small

spades (and hands), students filled their fired containers with potting soil to about 1 inch from the top. (Many students have never dug into dir t like this and enjoy getting their hands dir ty.) The small glazed castle connected to its slab base is placed on top of the dir t and the arrangement begins. I brought in moss collected in the woods behind my house, and a bag of pea gravel (purchased in a garden shop) made realistic-looking trails leading up to the castles. Students had also collected items to add charm and intrigue, such as shells, sea glass, stones, feathers and gnarled pieces of wood. Needless to say, this par t of the project is best done outside if possible.

There is a lot of room for student interpretation in this project.

cut, and so on. Because the pieces are so small, they don’t need to be hollow to fire in a kiln without exploding. These are connected together with clay slip. The castle is constructed on a small clay slab (about 4 inches in diameter), which will fit easily within the slab “stump” container. The castle’s glaze (after it has been bisque fired) can be realistic or fantastical—perhaps the residence a fairy tale princess. My aquarium castles are again brought out for inspiration. www.ar tsandactivities.com

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CLOSING THOUGHTS. This is the best lesson I’ve ever taught! It has all the elements I find exemplar y in a lesson: all students can be successful, there is latitude for student interpretation and, for me, the lesson has continued to morph and grow, keeping it from getting stale. It has been easy to tweak, making it applicable to a variety of age levels and time constraints. I proudly offer it to you, and encourage your own interpretations and adaptations. n

Craig Hinshaw is an elementar y ar t teacher in the Lamphere School District in Madison Heights, Michigan. and author of several ar trelated books, available at www. craighinshaw.com. 25

by Tammie Clark

have a personal fascination with face jugs, and planned to create them with my elementar y students. I wanted a slab construction method since wheel throwing was out of the question. I knew how to create a slab cylinder with a bottom, but I needed to figure out how to pinch in the neck so it looked more like a jug and not a coffee mug. I collaborated with a friend and local university clay instructor who suggested cutting triangular notches out of the top edge, then overlapping the pieces and blending the seam. The following lesson is a combination of these collaborations. I use high-fire stoneware clay, eliminating the need to glaze the pieces. I teach this unit in three 45-minute lessons. THE FIRST LESSON STARTS with showing episode eight in

the eighth season of the PBS show, History Detectives (see A&A Online for link). It provides a good history lesson, with explanations of several face-jug origins and shows an artist creating a face jug on a pottery wheel. After the video, I show students a PowerPoint of jug construction so they can better visualize the process. Then, students start to plan their face jug faces by drawing ideas on paper, bearing in mind the resources they just viewed. Face Jug, ca. 1860–70. John Lewis Miles Pottery (1868–75), Edgefield District, South Carolina. Alkalineglazed stoneware; 7" x 5" x 5.5". Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y. Rogers Fund, 1922. ©/ Public domain. See p. 37 for a larger reproduction of this artwork. 26

LESSON 2 involves the creation of the slab cylinder for the body of the face jug. I start with a demonstration of the process and then keep

Bushy eyebrows (left) and antennae were among the fun features students made for their jugs.

a paper with step-by-step instructions projected on to the AV screen from my document camera. This step was added this year to help students solve their own problems or recall the next steps, leaving me to help those students who really need me to help. Students take a block of clay and visually divide it into thirds, and cut off one third and put it to the side for later. The larger piece is then rolled out into a long slab to be wrapped around a section of carpet tubing. They test the length of the slab by wrapping it softly around the tube; if it overlaps, they can proceed. If the slab is especially curved, they need to cut off a small strip, creating a straight edge. Placing a 9" x 12" paper around the carpet tube before wrapping the slab allows the tube to slide out easily—otherwise the clay will stick to the tube. Lining up the straight edge of the clay with the bottom of the tube, the slab is wrapped, and students press the overlapped edges together with their fingers (no slip and score needed). Because it seems to resonate, I tell the students that they should press the clay as they would click and draga a computer mouse or press and drag on a tablet touch screen. The remaining third of clay is rolled into a circle similar to a cookie or pancake and placed on the bottom of the slab cylinder still on the tube. The edges of the circle are gently folded over the slab and attached to by pressing and dragging the clay. f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 9 • 86 Y E A R S

www.ar tsandactivities.com

MATERIALS

• •

•

Students planned their jugs’ faces ahead of time using play dough.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Canvas placemats Carpet tube cut into 8-inch sections, 12-inch PVC pipe rollers covered with manila or construction paper Old toothbrushes, water cups Sharpened dowels, metal scissors Stoneware clay, cone 5 or 6 (two colors, 1 lb. for cylinders and quarter- to half-pound for handle and facial features) Step-by-step directions for document camera projection Video (live streamed or purchased from PBS online): History Detectives, Season 8, Episode 8

Go to artsandactivities.com and click on this button for resources related to this article.

I demonstrate this process in my hand because keeping it upright on the table almost always ends in pushing down on the tube, creating a cookie cutter effect. Students use a sharpened dowel to scratch their names and class codes into the bottom of the cylinders before removing the tube. The tube is removed leaving the paper behind. Since the paper is flexible, unlike the tube, it can be easily removed even though it is stuck to the clay. The finished cylinder is placed in a gallon zip-lock baggie and placed in a plastic soda crate. Tip: I always double-check each baggie to make sure it is well sealed, since they won’t be opened until two weeks later. During that time, the clay does tend to firm up somewhat depending on the amount of moisture in the clay and the thickness of the cylinder. I teach at three elementary schools, one on a cart in their regular classrooms. I see my students there every other week, so before this part of the lesson, I pre-cut the clay and put it in sandwich-size zip-lock bags; pre-label the gallon baggies with students’ names on masking tape; wrap the PVC pipe rollers with paper; and place each table’s supplies in wash tubs. I have a class set of placemats made from a painter’s canvas tarp, which I use for all clay projects. FINISHING TOUCHES ARE CREATED DURING LESSON 3. First, students use their drawings from the first lesson to model the facial features they want in play dough. Then, moving on to the clay, I demonstrate the process: cinching in the mouth of the cylinder, adding a handle and face features. www.ar tsandactivities.com

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Upper-elementary students will ... • be immersed in the history of the face jug. • create their own face jug out of clay.

NATIONAL ART STANDARDS

•

CREATING: Enduring Understanding (EU). People create and interact with objects, places and design that define, shape, enhance and empower their lives. • PRESENTING: EU. Artists and other presenters consider various techniques, methods, venues, and criteria when analyzing, selecting and curating objects, artifacts, and artworks for preservation and presentation. • RESPONDING: EU. Individual aesthetic and empathetic awareness developed through engagement with art can lead to understanding and appreciation of self, others, the natural world and constructed environments. • CONNECTING: EU. Through art making, people make meaning by investigating and developing awareness of perceptions, knowledge, and experiences. People develop ideas and understanding of society, culture, and history through their interactions with and analysis of art.

Whether their jugs had three eyes or one, students put much thought into the facial features.

Here, too, I project the directions using the document camera to help students work independently. To cinch in the mouth of the cylinder, I tell students to imagine a clock face where the overlapped seams of the cylinder are at 6 o’clock. You make a vertical cut with the scissors at 12, 3 and 9 o’clock, leaving 6 o’clock for the handle placement. Overlap each of the flaps from the cuts over one another. Supporting the inside with a finger, push and drag to seal. see

FACE

on page 33 27

ew England’s coastlines and seafaring history inspired me to introduce my fifth-grade art students to the beauty of Sailors’ Valentines, a kind of seashell art. In the 19th century, people were very interested in nature, and nature crafts and collections, and during this time, sailors brought the “valentines” home to their wives, girlfriends, mothers and sisters. Historians once thought that sailors made these decorative pieces while aboard ships, but now believe that most Sailors’ Valentines were made on the West Indies island of Barbados between 1830–80, where the native people created and sold them to American and European mariners. THE TRADITIONAL SHAPE OF A SAILORS’ VALENTINE

is octagonal. They were often made in double-

sided wooden boxes with glass coverings. For our purposes, I purchased 7- and 10-inch octagon-shaped paper plates from an online party supply store. You could create your own octagon base out of mat board, but I discovered through the creative process that the larger shape requires more materials and time to fill the prescribed space, so you may want to consider this for planning purposes. I showed students excellent early examples that can be found in the book Sailors’ Valentines, by John Fondas (Rizzoli; 2002). I explained that shell designs were patterned, not randomly placed, and were often geometric or floral. Sometimes a photograph was placed in the center or messages were spelled out in tiny shells. Sea shells can be gathered from sources

One of the things students discovered during this project was that they could make unique and meaningful designs.

Exploring 19th-Century Crafts 28

f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 9 • 86 Y E A R S

by Emily Moll

www.ar tsandactivities.com

as varied as walks along the beach, or online catalogs, dollar stores and cast-off collections from thrift shops. Students selected a precut colored foil panel that they glued to the base of the octagon shape. This allowed for the first opportunity for student self-selection as related to a personalized shell collage. We then discussed the shape, size and color relationships of the natural sea forms, and their importance to our world’s oceans. I shared the identifying names of each shell and the region of their habitat when possible. THE FIRST SEVERAL CLASSES EMPHASIZED the intent to

explore student designs and revisions of the creative Sailor Valentine compositions. The early shell designs were patterned, so I stressed the need for thoughtful composition that emphasized student choice as related to color relationships, texture, symmetry and placement.

This lesson is a great way to help students understand balance, contrast, earth tones and shape along with the added challenge of how to fit objects within the geometric shape. I asked that they select their favorite shells and to find others that go with that family of shells. Students discovered that they could make unique and meaningful designs. I overheard students asking each other “Does this look good?” “Should I add more?” I encouraged students to look at their peers’ designs and provide compliments as each of us has different idea of what is beautiful. When students felt truly satisfied with their designs, I provided them with wood glue to dip each shell into and carefully place within the traditional octagon shape. WHEN THE SAILORS’ VALENTINES WERE DISPLAYED, our

school community was intrigued and enthusiastically embraced them. One adult viewer shared that he had never heard of them before the exhibit, and was grateful to learn about Sailors’ Valentines. This is a project I will do again and increase collaboration with classroom teachers when geometry is introduced, as there are many aspects of shape and design embedded in the art lesson that relate to this math concept. n Emily Moll is the visual arts specialist at Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School in Brunswick, Maine.

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES Upper-elementary students will ... • gain knowledge about a 19th-century art form with a rich history. • create their own interpretation of a Sailors’ Valentine. • demonstrate proper care for and use of materials, tools and equipment.

NATIONAL ART STANDARDS

MATERIALS

•

CREATING: Combine ideas to generate an innovative idea for art-making; demonstrate quality craftsmanship through care for and use of materials, tools and equipment. • RESPONDING: Understanding and evaluating how the arts convey meaning. Compare one’s own interpretation of a work of art with the interpretation of others.

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86 Y E A R S •

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• • • • •

7- and 9-inch octagonal paper plates (or precut matboard) Tacky glue and/or wood glue Precut colored foil octagon shapes Tacky glue and or wood glue Seashells (from beach, dollar stores, thrift shops or craft supply stores)

Scaffolding Artistic Accomplishment with

Stories and Art by Alice Arnold

n he classroom, books and art can team up to expand the creative process. The beautiful Caldecott award-winning book, The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses, by Paul Goble, became the backbone for design and artistic expression when college students and fourth-graders made art together. THE TEAM APPROACH TO ART-MAKING. Each semester, my college students join me to teach art to the children at the Lucille Gorham Intergenerational Community Center in Greenville, N.C. The children in the YES: Youth Excelling for Success after-school program collaborate with their college mentors for highly personal artistic statements. We read stories to the children, sometimes show a video to expand the concepts being included, discuss the many mean-

This fourth-grader used a lot of texture techniques for her horse.

A closer look at one horse drawing.

ings and ideas found in the stories, and then make art based on the children’s perceptions and ideas. At the end of each lesson, we clean up and reflect on individual and group success, and display the art in the hallway for others to critique and enjoy. SCAFFOLDING STUDENT SUCCESS. In Paul Goble’s tale of

love and courage, the children find many parts of the story to name and call out as “favorite” in discussion. The central character is taken away to a far-off land, yet finds friends and becomes a part of another community. The story is more meaningful when read aloud and can become embedded in a child’s memory during the group process. After the reading, the children discuss the concepts and ideas they found in the story. We write these ideas on the chalkboard for everyone to see. We then allow time to demonstrate many drawing techniques using felt-tip markers. Several different examples of finished artworks are also taped to the front board, giving the children both motivational ideas and clear parameters for their artwork. MANY TECHNIQUES DEMONSTRATED. Each child has an indi-

A variety of styles and approaches to art making were used.

This student shows the progress on her horse.

The finished horses were arranged on the wall so they would appear to be galloping down the hallway. 30

vidual horse to design. An image of a single horse found on the website, getdrawings.com, is copied for each child onto an 11" x 17" piece of thin white tagboard. As the children watch, the college students model techniques using felt-tip markers. For example, we show the application of large flat areas of bright color and the use of contrasting colors in different parts of the horse drawing. Texture techniques as well as the use of both wide and thin lines are demonstrated. Finally, dot patterns are shown as part of a large repertoire of possible methods the children may use. Each student is instructed to make a horse “unique and one of a kind, like no one else’s.” Showing children many examples of how to apply color and pattern equips them with a range of tools. The demonstrations are followed by permission to experiment, to use their imaginations, and to invent their own approach— ordered and controlled, or random and experimental. Because the stated goal is to create a unique work, success is highly individualized. In the final critique, all artworks are praised. This kind of scaffolding of student success leads to a sense of merit and self-worth in large classrooms with diverse learners. SUPPORT FOR DIVERSE LEARNERS. Today, many schools have learners with a wide range of life experiences. Some see f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 9 • 86 Y E A R S

HORSES

on page 32

www.ar tsandactivities.com

come to the classroom with rich life and art experiences, and have been exposed to a variety of art processes, while others have had little prior art exposure. Scaffolding student success with college mentors gives the children the support they need to try new approaches or more ambitious work. Some of my college students successfully negotiate a joint process of working on the art with the students: both mentor and fourth-graders draw on an image at the same time. Yet most of the students want to complete their drawings, using only their own ideas.

HORSES continued from page 30

SERVICE-LEARNING: A WIN-WIN. This

ser vice-learning project, teaching art at “the center,” is my college students’ favorite part of their art education course. They get to share written lesson plans, prepare the art materials for the day, travel to the center, and read the stor y to the children. They also assist with the instruction, either demonstrating techniques or coaching the children in the process of creating. A win-win situation develops as each child and teacher finds a comfort level. Service-learning takes place during the entire process of lesson prepara-

SEE HOW teachers have used past Arts & Activities PROJECTS in their ART ROOM.

tion—through the moment my students step foot in the school door until they all return to their dorms and apartments after the class. The tone of excitement in the children’s voices and the sense of anticipation on their faces when they know they will “have art” teaches my students the important role that art plays in the curriculum and in the life of the child. The clear direction given by the regular classroom teachers at the center models the kind of care and concern my students will show in their future classrooms. Clean-up is swift and efficient with all students helping perform tasks. My students get to know these young people in our one hour together—and this experience brings the joy of teaching art with them to their future lives. Today’s classrooms are diverse and need both structure and freedom of artistic expression. Demonstrating many techniques and creative options, as well as making art together are excellent ways to scaffold instruction so that students of all backgrounds and ability levels can achieve. n Alice Arnold is Professor of Art Education in the School of Art and Design at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.

Hands On

Sumi-e Samurais BY DAVID LAUX

BY IRV OSTERER

| JANUARY 2014

| SEPTEMBER 2017

he article that inspired this project was in the September 2017 issue, Hands On, by Irv Osterer. I made a short slide presentation work to about how artists can use their Edvard send a message. I started with BarMunch and Pablo Picasso, showed with bara Kroger’s work, and ended the street artist, JR. This coincided with the publicity border about JR’s current work on the I wall between Mexico and California. played an audio interview from National show. Public Radio with the slide it This proved to be powerful because mix and brought current issues into the to it the students seemed to respond with interest. The way that JR describes the work was open ended and personal. my The question I asked to prompt use the students was, “How can you with imagery of hands to send a message

& he January 2014 issue of Arts Activities is one of my favorites. in I was really drawn to the images David Laux’s article, Sumi-e Samurais. open I remember leaving that article I could on my desk for weeks, just so was so see those images every day. I out to inspired by it, that I reached Adopt-a-Classroom for sumi-e brushes. the I’d had a difficult time finding your artwork?” right projects to engage my fifth-gradkey. ers that year. This one was the Submitted by Hallie Levine workThey loved the whole concept of Art Teacher the ing on samurais and learning about Pickney Community High School spehistory. They also felt it was super Pickney, Michigan cial to have the new sumi-e brushes. had One student in particular, who up havnever liked to create art, ended local ing his samurai displayed at our to came art museum! His whole family see it. It was a big deal.

Choice-Based Art: Diving Deep BY JULIE TOOLE

Assorted Henri Rous seauLessons, Art Prints, Inspired etc.

Submitted by Amanda Koonlaba Visual Art Specialist Lawhon Elementary School Tupelo, Mississippi

Alive and Kicking: Round and Round 26

BY DON MASSE

| DECEMBER 2015

Students layered the circles the same way as shown in the article. ® Students used Sharpie and marker to color symmetrically. The work was displayed on bulletin boards adminin the hall. Students, teachers, comistration and parents have all work is mented on how beautiful the of the and how they love the display work together.

Submitted by Nan Hathaway Art Teacher, Crossett Brook Middle School, Duxbury, Vermont

Old-School Inspiration BY ANNE HOFFMAN

| MARCH 2017

tried this wonderful lesson by Anne Hoffman in the issue, on the artist March 2017 WRDSMTH. I never and I was intrigued heard of this artist before, by his work. I thought to spread some it would be a great kindness in our way middle school, the does, with his positive way WRDSMTH messages of hope and perseverance. I contacted Anne, and she was so gracious her PowerPoint, and generously her typewriter printout, gave me links to the stencils and lots of encouragem she uses, ent. I followed her format, and with fantastic this project not results! The students only for the power loved of the quote they because they were chose, but also so successful with every aspect of the project.

Submitted by Kerri Waller Art Teacher, Simpson Middle School Marietta, Georgia

A&A Art Prints and more EVERY ISSUE OF ARTS & ACTIVITIES

| MAY 2016

he idea of providing 1990s TO PRESENT “time, space and support” to students who choose to spend time with have enjoyed many a process, idea, of Arts & Activities’ techHenri Rousseau nique or medium, dating back as far lessons and resources can transform art as the early 1990s. class What I’ve done with incorporate them into an authentic art-studio experience. into my two schools—w all the project ideas is severe multiple here I teach students, Following Julie impairments and Toole’s example, aged 5 to 26, with autism spectrum I project focusing allow my students disorder—as a on animals in Rousseau’s to decide how long collaborativ e to stay with school was assigned paintings, i v i t in ies.com an artwork or line the rainforest. Each different x w w w . a r t s a n d a c tand of thinka y 2 0 1 8 • 8 5 Y E A R S animal groupings. We paper, 3D,mtexture ing and making, have a combinatio and to continue rubbings and paint, n of workcut ing until “done.” markers and stamping! This attitude supports the developmen t of individual style, Submitted 1992 the by Lori Reuben, Art creation of series BY PAULA SLEMMER | OCTOBER, Lincoln Teacher–Special of works, (which Development Center Needs span years), can and Pine Grove encourages a connection Learning Center Grand Rapids Public between school and home, and nurtures Schools, Michigan productive collaboratio ns between likeminded learners. Win-win-win!

I Autumn Leaves: An Experiment in Cubism

ers.) My students & have been a subscriber to Arts working were a Activities for the last 20 years (and on 3D clay garuse the writer for the past six), and I still goyles (from the pull-out Art Prints with my students. Feb. 2000 issue). I started using I showed them them as an elethe Ar t Print from mentary teacher May 2011—a 3.3and now, as a cm Japanese netschool middle (miniature suke teacher, I use sculpture), depictthem even more ing a monkey with … and not just the current ones! The baby. her clay I always start my students on gargoyles that we around the beginning of February, but not as a one- were making were small, thinking that it will be about While love small as the 3.3 cm netsuke. month project. Not! My students analyzing the print, we discussed working with clay—as most do—and sculptures figurative into miniature my one clay project usually turns (scale), texture, and form. three or four more. I pulled out two magazines—the Lubiner Submitted by Glenda y 2000. May 2011 issue and Februar Art Teacher, Franklin Academy by (Yes, I have them all categorized Pembroke Pines, Florida bindmonth and years in several

WHAT I FOUND TO BE THE GREATEST CHALLENGE was getting students to

think “outside the box” and first challenge what can pass as a box and then to think more abstractly in terms of visual narratives and how to convey meaning without being on-the-nose literal. As many of my students are not native English Language Learners, some of them struggle with “Where I’m From” in using sensory ideas, fragmented text, partiality and pieces, etc.,

Using simple ceramic slab construction techniques, students created a versatile surface on which to display imagery to tell their stories.

85th ANNIVERSARY

ound and Round is an example of how art teachers can incorporate modern, living artists within our classroom walls. The article focuses on artist Matt Moore from Maine. While Masse teaches a younger group, the to project was easily transferred my seventh-graders. My students narexamined Moore’s website and murals. rowed in on his more organic Masse We focused on the same mural colorful did with his students—a We 2010. in Portland in piece painted y, reviewed vocabular y like symmetr murals overlapping, space, line, shape, and collaboration.

www.artsandactivities.com

continued from page 23

It Works! & Activities. plans and resources found in Arts in this past September’s lesson the following accounts “A&A: It Works!” was announced The original articles that inspired celebration. We were page at issue, launching our 85th Anniversary on our website. Visit our home started coming in from are available exhilarated when the testimonials 85th Anniversary “A&A: It artsandactivities.com, click on the successful ideas and around the nation. icon, and a veritable treasure of comments and we were Works” Our hearts were warmed by the will be yours. the young generation of art lessons thrilled with the response from daily in their art rooms. We Publisher teachers who use the magazine — Maryellen Bridge, Editor and are using the ideas, they how of stories their enjoyed reading

Visit our website and click on the “IT WORKS!” icon to learn more.

silkscreened images and stencils, textures and sgrafitto, and photo decals in which personal pictures could be printed from the classroom printer. Upon completion, they reflected upon their work, sharing both the written poem and the narrative box. Through a series of written questions and dialogue at a class critique, they explained how the two connected.

FROM

was a starting point whis w w . project artsandac tivities. o m cubist ❘ 85 for numerous variations con it, we leaves. The first time I taught white used colored marker on plain same copy paper. We followed the used 4 directions as in the article, but color 5 leaf shapes. They looked very step. orful, but seemed to need another The next time I taught the lesson, conin leaves of we added another layer ® tour lines with black Sharpie . Students onto who had time went “off the paper” much another paper. This version looked sprayed also have We nished. fi more water to the colored marker lightly with another make the colors bleed for yet to the look. This past fall, we added salt wet markers to add some texture.

m a y 2 0 1 8 • 85 Y E A R S

Submitted by Donna Staten, Art Specialist, Gattis Elementary School, Round Rock, Texas ❘

ties.com www.ar tsandactivi

YEARS • m ay

2018

Submitted by Stephanie Stamm, Boyertown West Middle School, Boyertown, Art Teacher Pennsylvania 29

to tell a story over the linear, factual histories of starting at point A and ending at B. Student-created videos can be an excellent ways to connect the written narratives to highly personal footage, connecting on a deeper universal level. This lesson is designed for a high school ceramics class, but I have implemented it with my Art Foundations classes by simplifying the box into tiles (which were later installed into a mosaic). I feel that students of all levels could partake in the big ideas surrounding this lesson of using meaningful imagery to connect to the written narratives of what makes their lives meaningful and unique. n Tera Stockdale is a visual art educator at Columbus North International School in Columbus, Ohio.

f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 9 • 86 Y E A R S

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If the clay is too dr y after two weeks in the baggie, students will need to score and slip these overlapped areas. (If you are familiar with sewing, this process is similar to making a notch in a garment.) I use a quick score-and-slip method I learned at a workshop: a wet toothbrush. The toothbrush scores the areas and the water in the toothbrush creates slip as it scratches the clay surface. To make a handle, students roll out a coil about 6 inches long, bend it into a curve, then bend out the ends to make it look like an inchworm. The wet toothbrush is then used to score/slip the handle over the 6 o’clock position.

FACE

continued from page 27

The widest range of colorful dinnerware safe glazes. Available everywhere.

AT THIS POINT, students to take their drawings and interpret in clay the features they drew: will they use coils, slabs, or spheres? Students make their face features and use the wet toothbrush to attach them to the cylinder, making sure to score both the cylinder surface and the back of each facial feature. Finished face jugs are placed back into the soda crates for transport to the school with the kiln. I fire them at a Cone 5 or 6, depending on the clay we are using. Additional thoughts after 10 years of making these with students: Old white stoneware dishes can be broken up and used for teeth. Whatever you do, do NOT use porcelain—trust me, it’s a messy mistake! I have a colleague who uses white clay for the eyes and has started adding a clear glaze to her students’ face jugs. It looks very nice, but she sees her students on a weekly basis and has more time than I do with her students. With the project taking three class periods out of a total 18 in a year, I can’t justify spending another class time on glazing. Tip: If you are also pressed for time, but really want sheen, use floor wax to create the look of clear glaze. Each year, the fifth-graders look forward to making face jugs, and tell me their brothers and sisters still have theirs. It’s one of the many reasons this has become an annual project. n

Tammie Clark (NBCT) is an art teacher at Somerville Road and Decatur Elementary Schools in Decatur, Alabama. www.ar tsandactivities.com

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Face Jug, ca. 1860–70. John Lewis Miles Pottery (1868–75), Edgefield District, South Carolina. Alkaline-glazed stoneware; 7" x 5" x 5.5". Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y. Rogers Fund, 1922. / Public domain. ©

“It’s not new that architecture can profoundly affect a place, sometimes transform it. Architecture and any art can transform a person, even save someone.” — Frank Gehry

his month we have a lot to celebrate. February is Black History Month. We will also celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Week, which is Feb. 9–15, Valentine’s Day, Presidents’ Day, and Chinese New Year. Below we have some great tips on clay, community connections and getting ready for the spring art show.

tip #1

GLAZE AWAY. Thelma Halloran, from

L yme-Old L yme Middle School in Connecticut, created a glaze chip chart that shows the “Do’s and Don’ts” of proper glazing techniques. She made chips showing one coat, another showing two coats and three coats so that students can see the difference between transparencies vs. opacity. She also created a chip with too much glaze that “pools” and a chip that shows the glaze “crawling”

tip #3 BE OUT THERE! There are always muse-

ums, businesses and corporations that are looking for partnerships with schools. MaryJane Long, from Dover High School in Delaware is currently partnering with the Biggs American Art Museum. The Biggs is celebrating their 25th anniversary and schools throughout Delaware can adopt a piece of art from the museum. The museum then provides a reproduction of the art piece for display in the school. Teachers in different content areas can view the work and then create lessons based on the pieces. These units are then posted online for others to use and share. MaryJane found out about this opportunity at a monthly Delaware Art Education meeting. The connections are there, go and find them!

tip #4

PIN IT! Pinterest has been updated

and now allows you to organize pins into different sections under each of

Transformed by Art because the bisque ware might not have been thoroughly rinsed prior to glazing.

tip #2

TIME TO MAKE THE DONUTS. Pop art is always fun to do, so Emily Deacon from Franklin Academy Pembroke Pines, Florida, had her students make clay donuts. After they were fired, her students dipped them in “glazes” of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla, and then had them add “sprinkles.” Emily made the sprinkles by painting thin layers of glaze on foil and letting it dry. She then crinkled the foil to make the sprinkles. Donut holes were offered to our guests in the “Pop Art” room of the art show. ATTENTION READERS If you would like to share some of your teaching tips, email them to: tipsforartteachers@yahoo.com 38

your boards. For example, Tracy Fortune, from Lakes High School in Lakewood, WA has a board called Clay Artworks with Sections titled Coil, Slab, Pinch Pot, and Extruder. On her AP 3D-board she has sections including Altered Books, Lanterns and Reed Sculptures, Functional Paper Artworks and Nature Arranged. Pinterest also now allows you to specify if you want the alphabetize or use other sorting system.

tip #5

MARCH MADNESS. Youth Art Month and Music in Our Schools Month arrive in March. At Franklin Academy in Pembroke Pines, Florida, Emily Deacon (elementary art), Jennifer Pulliam (middle school digital art), and I (middle school 2D and 3D art) create a huge extravaganza. Our Art and Multicultural Show is also one of our biggest fundraisers. We charge $5 admission

Glenda L

ubiner

and the tickets become our patrons’ raffle tickets. Our NJAHS Students dress up as artists and greet our guests. They work for months going around to local businesses and getting donations of raffle gifts. We usually have around 30 raffle prizes ranging from $5 coupons at the local yogurt store to $50 restaurant gift cards. Last year, Emily had installations around the school and Jen’s students created passports that the kids got stamped at each event. As mentioned before, Emily showcased her Pop Art room, and her Tea Room (of course tea was served there too). The kids created small plates and teacups from clay. Emily looks at her curriculum for each grade level and decides months in advance how she can incorporate what they are doing into the show. The art room is converted into the “famous” black-light room. Every year we try and tie the theme into our school theme … this year “The Greatest School on eARTh!” Our robotic class will be helping to make something moving across the room on a high wire! Lots of time and effort for a 2-hour show, but always worth it! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO Takashi Murakami

(Feb. 1, 1962), Paula Modersohn-Becker (Feb. 8, 1876), Leone Battista Alberti (Feb. 18, 1404), Tom Wesselmann (Feb. 23, 1931), Frank Gehry (Feb. 28, 1929). Thank you Thelma, Tracy, Maryjane, Emily, and Jennifer for your great tips.n Arts & Activities Contributing Editor Glenda Lubiner (NBCT) teaches art at Franklin Academy Charter School in Pembroke Pines, Fla. She is also an adjunct professor at Broward College.

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The Potters Guild in Ann Arbor Bailey “Double Insulated” Top Loaders, have 32% less heat loss compared to conventional electric kilns. Revolutionary Design There are over 12 outstanding features that make the Bailey Thermal Logic Electric an amazing design. It starts with the Bailey innovative “Quick-Change” Element Holder System. And there’s much more. Look to Bailey innovation when you want the very best products and value.

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Turn It Up!

Lesson Plan for Grades 3–12

Step 1: Make a cone shape for the body of the amplifier. Cut a slot about 1/2" larger than the width and depth of the cell phone. Smooth the edges.

Step 2: Add feet or facial features if desired by slipping and scoring.

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Step 3: After bisque-firing, brush on bright, opaque glazes in three coats.

Item #30458

Make a cell phone amplifier by mixing clay with a little bit of science. This “modern megaphone” is great for broadcasting your favorite music so everyone can enjoy. It’s easy to do. Build the clay cone, add fun details, and cut a space for the phone to sit in. Then glaze, fire, and turn up the volume!

DickBlick.com/lesson-plans/turn-it-up Alliance for Young Artists Writers

CHECK OUT NEW lesson plans and video workshops at DickBlick.com/lessonplans. For students of all ages!

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