Coil Pots

It doesn't matter how old or young students are, they all seem to really love clay. When they walk into the art room and see it set up for ceramic exploration you hear "YESSSS!", "YAY!", and "WHAT ARE WE MAKING?!" They can't wait to find out when they get to take it home, even before anything has been made! Yes, clay projects truly are that exciting!

Our super lucky 4th graders recently explored coil pots! This was a first, both for them and for me. I'm not the best coil maker in the universe, and I've never taught a class how to make a coil pot. I tend to plan one day ceramic projects because keeping them moist enough to continue working on days later is tough to do in my space. I was a little concerned about how much we could accomplish in a 40 minute class, but they really rocked it!

Before students arrived, I used my brand new handy dandy slab roller (it's so awesome and saves so much time prepping clay!!!!) to prep bases for the coil pots. Art helpers punched out circular discs using plastic Wilton cookie cutters. 4 "clay cookies" were placed on the top of a stack of 4 canvas boards (one for each student at each table in the room). I prepped tabletop trashcans with clay tools for scoring and water dishes to share with elbow partners. 

We viewed and discussed various examples of coil pots, looking for ideas. After a quick demo of how to make a coil, how to score and slip it to build upwards from the slab base, and how to sign the bottom, it was time for the 4th graders to dive in! They couldn't wait to get started!

Some chose to build straight up using coils, attempting to make their coil pot as tall as possible. 

Some made tiny coil swirls to sit upright atop the larger coils as they built upward. 

Others made beads of clay to add to their mix of coils for an extra bit of fancy!

We waited for them to dry on the clay cart for a few days. Any moisture in the clay could cause them to explode in the kiln, so we tried to be patient. Students are typically pretty proud of clay projects. They're treasured and students save them forever!

A retiring teacher gifted me this old media cart a few years ago, which has been absolutely perfect for storing glaze! I arrange them like soup cans on a store shelf. Glazes are easy to find and return to their spots, I can wheel it anywhere I need it to be, students can walk around it. It's pretty sweet. Opened containers have a sharpie "O" on the top so students know which are ready to use and which are not. If they want to know what a glaze looks like after firing (because they're mostly pastel and boring straight from the jar) there are glazed tile examples hanging from the side that are labeled so they can find the colors of their dreams!

Since brushes aren't always rinsed as well as they should be, we pour tiny amounts of glaze into glaze/paint dishes. This way the glazes in the jars aren't contaminated by other colors from dirty brushes. 

Students worked to glaze their pots, filling in all of the nooks and crannies.

They needed 3 layers of glaze for rich color and glossy shine.

Some used one color for the entire pot, while others really mixed it up by trying several. They're all so different!

I absolutely love opening the kiln after a glaze firing. I love the color and the tings and crackles of cooling ceramics. After cooling for a day, I removed them and put the coil pots in the hall display. 

Students and teachers have stopped to admire their work, and the kids can't wait to take them home! I've promised to return them before Christmas break!

Older students have asked who made them, can they make them too? We will definitely be exploring coil pots again soon! 

American Gothic Parodies

Inspiration can be found almost anywhere. Over the summer a group of coworkers and their sons invited me to join them to hike a small portion of the Appalachian Trail. The trail runs from Georgia to Maine and takes roughly 6 months to thru hike. Summers aren't that long, of course, so we planned a 4 day hike. You can read more about it here. While hiking only a few things occupy your thoughts: moving forward, hurting feet, water, and miles to camp. You notice incredibly beautiful things around you and carefully avoid the scary things, like snakes. Sometimes other things hit you. An intensely strong desire for a cold glass of lemonade, or a cool new idea for an art project. I was struck by both!

Dave and Erin Good are a married couple that teach at my school. They're always up for an adventure and they have a great sense of humor (my favorite type of folks), so I knew they'd be perfect for an American Gothic Parody! A parody is a silly version of a serious work of art. For example, Weird Al sings parodies of popular songs. Anywho, American Gothic is probably the most recognizable work by Iowan artist Grant Wood. It's so famous that it's often parodied in advertisements. While visiting Knoebels Amusement Resort with my family over the summer I saw that their baked potato stand sign was a parody of American Gothic. Farmers Only used a cartoon parody in their first wave of tv commercials. A former student gifted a pin to me from the state farm show a few years ago that had a chicken and rooster in the iconic pose. If you know the famous original, you'll notice parodies of it all over the place! I've seen 4 parodies of it on social media this week alone! Knowing bits of cultural art history is like being in a cool club! You understand humor that others don't appreciate!

Back to the trail...When we stopped for a water break I asked Dave and Erin if they'd be willing to pose for me and they very happily agreed! I told you they were fun, but this really upped their cool factor! I carry my sketchbook everywhere, so when we were sitting in camp later that evening I did a quick caricature of them posing as American Gothic. I didn't want to lose the idea. In the sketch I added details from our hiking experience. In place of the white house from the original painting I drew the large tarp that we tented under during a rainstorm. Instead of holding a pitchfork, Dave proudly holds a roasted hot dog on a stick, our first hiking feast! All of the parts make sense together and are easily recognized as a parody of the original. So how does this work in the classroom? To prep for this project I hung several parodies of Mona Lisa around the school. Students had been noticing and commenting on them for weeks. What are they for? They saw a Star Wars Mona Lisa by the library doors and a Lego Mona Lisa by the stairs. They know the original version plays an important role in the art room, so what's with the silly stuff? 

When they came to class I projected this image at the front of the room. I wanted students to read the picture, to think about what they were seeing, to look closely for clues that would help them answer the questions. I wanted them to own the information instead of me just jibber-jabbing facts at them. Many noted their attire. People don't really dress like that these days. They were standing pretty close to each other so they couldn't be strangers, that'd be uncomfortable. Some thought they were married, but others thought the farmer looked too old for the lady standing next to him. Maybe it was his daughter? They must be farmers because there's a barn and he's holding a pitchfork. Maybe they're in England? No, this could be Pennsylvania because it looks kind of like where we live. They shared a lot of good ideas, and then we discussed the answers, justifying them with the clues. Students were excited when they were on track with their thoughts, and I was too! This was all pretty serious business, so we added a dash of whimsy fun viewing several parodies of American Gothic. Now the silly Mona Lisa pictures were making sense! They're parodies! I shared my Appalachian Gothic with them and explained the parts of the drawing. So why were we looking at parodies of famous art? Because we were making our own! Oh, the possibilities! What could we draw inspiration from?! From things we know...

Students needed to brainstorm 2 characters that made sense together. Darth Vader and Princess Leia make sense together, they're from the same movie franchise (Star Wars, a family favorite). But Scooby Doo and Mickey Mouse wouldn't work at all because they're from totally different cartoons. You get the idea. How could there be a Scooby without a Shaggy?! One of the characters needed to be holding something to represent the pitchfork. In my example Dave is proudly holding a stick with a perfectly roasted hot dog. Then students needed to have an idea to replace the white farmhouse from the original work. I drew a tarp behind the Goods. Darth Vader and Princess Leia might have the Death Star behind them. That would make perfect sense, since that's where Darth Vader hangs out! They needed to draw LIGHTLY, breaking things down into basic shapes that they could add details to. We were careful about the size of our characters. How close were they standing to the viewer (that's us, the folks looking at the picture)? The kids loved this project! 

Some students chose characters from movies and cartoons they love, others chose characters from favorite video games or books, and others chose real people that they know, like their friends and family. Everyone was thoughtful in their choices. I like giving students the opportunity to choose whenever possible so I showed them several ways to add color to their work, including colored pencils, crayons, markers, markers blended with water painted over them, watercolor paints with salt sprinkles, and various combinations of those. It makes it more personal when they choose. Maybe it's something they've never tried before, or it's their favorite art supply to use, but it's theirs. Can I do this all the time? No. There are techniques and materials they need a formal introduction for, but can we experiment from time to time? Absolutely! 

These parodies are personal. Students chose subjects for their work based on what they like and then chose supplies they enjoyed to fill them in. They did a fabulous job! Be watching the hallways for these beauties in the near future! 

It's the Great Pumpkin!

My absolute favorite season is AUTUMN. Or fall. Tomato, tom-ah-to, whatever you like to say...and the very best part of fall is October. There's a crisp chill in the air that feels good on my face as I walk around bundled in layers. My trusty old knit hat is out of storage and adorning my head. Boots are back (cute ones, no winter attire quite yet!). THE LEAVES ARE GORGEOUS! Campfires are cozy, warm homemade soups are the perfect meal, and SQUASH (it's awesome)...There are football games with family, it's quilt and book/Netflix weather, and there are apple and pumpkin goodies everywhere! There are so many reasons to love October that I couldn't possibly list them all!!!

One of the reasons my 4th grade students look forward to October is because we open the kiln the very first week to reveal our finished clay pumpkins! It's our first clay project of the year, and everyone loves clay! In years past I've made jack-o-lanterns with them. They'd draw the faces on, I'd carve them out with an xacto and fire them. Students would glaze them, we'd use a funnel to poor black glaze inside and I'd fire them. They were adorable, and everyone was happy. Sadly I know that a lot of paper art projects get recycled (students and I love it when it's framed!!!), but clay projects are one of those things most folks save. I love hearing about clay projects students have saved. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 

I was all jazzed up to teach 4th graders how to make these adorable 'lil jack-o-lanterns but this year a student noticed a collection of clay shakers on my shelf and asked if we could make some. YES!!! What a great idea! 

So we mish-mashed the two ideas together and made pumpkin shakers instead! Let's take a closer look at the process here, shall we?

Each table had a handy dandy 'lil bucket with various clay tools in them to share. Partners shared water between them, just like we do for painting projects. Sharing is a big deal in the art room. Can you tell? Anyway...Each student had their own small canvas board to work on. They're pretty great because clay doesn't stick to them, so our work doesn't stick to the table surface! I found a box of neat-o old paper straws in the dark corners of a dusty cupboard and I cut them into 1/4's (I'll explain why a bit later) so each student got a little piece. I'll be sad when I run out of these and will have to find a replacement. While students worked, I passed around tiny dried clay spheres that students made with extra bits of clay from previous projects. I collect them in a container throughout the year, they dry out, and they're ready for shakers! Lastly, if anyone was wearing jewelry my little doxen shaped ring holder guarded it for us while we worked! We rolled up our sleeves and got started...

A pinch pot is made by pinching clay. In order to make a hollow sphere for these pumpkin shakers we needed to make 2 pinch pots and fuse them together. To do this everyone was given 2 larger spheres of clay and one much smaller. Students were asked to give me a thumbs up! Then we pushed one of the spheres of clay onto our thumb so it looked like it had a rock on it. We called them "rock thumbs" and happily showed them off to the room. Everyone smiled. It was pretty adorable. These rocks were about to become pinch pots! 

Thumbs needed to push into the clay far enough to reach what would become the bottom of the pinch pot. We talked about different ways to pinch. I didn't want them to pinch like a crab with their fingers curled because their clay would be too thick in some spots and much to thin in others. We need the walls of the pots to be fairly even. Instead, students were asked to pinch the wall of their pinch pots with flat fingers, like when you use your hand to quack like a duck. Pinch a little, turn it a little, pinch again, turn again, and we continued until we went all the way around the pot. Once the first pot was finished we made another with the other ball of clay!

We very lightly tapped the rim of the pots on our canvas board to flatten them a bit so we could fuse them together later. We also lightly tapped the bottom of one pot (the one for the bottom of our pumpkin) so that it would sit level on the table. Nobody wants their clay project to be so round that it rolls off of a shelf or table. Right? Right. Students are protective, proud, and excited about clay projects so we've got to be careful...

Time to score the clay! Scoring basically means you're scratching the surface of the clay so that you can fuse two pieces together. A professor in college said that if you didn't score and slip (put a bit of water over the scored clay) that your clay wouldn't stay fused together. I thought that was crazy and made something I was very proud of without scoring and slipping properly. I had blended the clay together and totally thought it would be fine. Nope. It fell apart. She knew why without me having to say it. I should have listened to the expert on the subject. Lesson learned. I share that with students so they know I'm human and that I've made mistakes that they can avoid. They take it pretty seriously. Everyone scored and slipped perfectly! Whew....

We set our scored pinch pots aside for a bit to prep the beads to go inside. After all, these are supposed to be shakers! The pinch pots are moist and the clay beads are dry. To prevent them from sticking together (because the dry beads could absorb some of that moisture) we wrap them in a small piece of paper towel and fold them in to prevent them from touching each other or the walls of the pots. 

The paper towel wrapped clay beads were placed inside of the bottom pot (the one we flattened the bottom of). Remember that little piece of paper straw I mentioned? We finally used it here! It acts as a little "exhaust" for the pumpkin. If clay isn't wedged (kneaded) properly it can contain air bubbles. These air bubbles are like tiny little bombs inside that explode under extreme kiln temperatures (the kiln is the large "oven" clay is "baked" in to harden it permanently). Without the paper straw our pumpkins would be one big air bubble, and that would be enormously disappointing to the pumpkin loving kiddos that worked so hard to make them. The paper towel and the paper straw will burn away in the first firing, leaving the beads free to move around to create that lovely rattling sound! 

With exhausts in place, students slipped (added water with their finger) to one rim of one pot and carefully fused them together. You can see here that putting two pots together creates a line around the middle, like an equator. To blend that in students used their fingers and thumbs to "erase" the equator all the way around the sphere. Ignore the glitter stuck in my clay. There's almost always a glitter trail around the art room, and the kiln temperatures get so hot they'll burn off! Problem solved...

Next, students used that other much smaller sphere of clay to form a stem for the top of our pumpkin shakers. After shaping it, they scored, slipped, and fused the stems to the tops of their pumpkins. Almost finished!

Students used clay tools and pencils to add lines and details to their pumpkins and stems! They looked great even before firing them!

Names and class sections had to be written NEATLY and GENTLY on the bottoms of our pots. Without them it can be hard to tell who made what and which belongs to who. This makes sorting them much easier. And I like it when things work out easier. Makes me smile. 

Students placed their finished pumpkins on the clay cart shelves to dry for a few days and tried to wait patiently. That's hard to do. I was asked often if they were ready yet. That's how much kids love clay. When they were dry enough, I loaded them in the kiln and fired them. It took about 10 1/2 hours to fire and reached about 2100 degrees! I told students that typical kitchen ovens only reach about 500 (that's a good pizza makin' temp), though most recipes hover between 350-400 degrees. That's pretty HOT! After firing, they cooled in the kiln for another day or two. Then it was GLAZING TIME!!!  

Glaze is not paint, though it's applied with a brush. It's confusing, I know. Just trust me on this. The colors look very pastel and strange and it's hard for students to imagine what they'll look like after a second kiln firing. To help them out I have a collection of glaze tile samples for them to look at. We loaded plastic egg platters that I bought at the Dollar General with glazes and labeled them with masking tape and sharpie so we'd know what colors we were using. 

In order for the glaze to work well, students needed to apply 3 coats of glaze. They did not need to be 3 coats of the same color, they could mix it up any way they wished. They love to choose. 

Some had polka-dots. Some had green, orange and tiger eye layers. I couldn't wait to see how they'd look after their final firing, and neither could the kids! 

To clean up students put their glazed pumpkin shakers on the clay cart to dry...

Check out those spots and speckles! 

Can you see the layered colors in the stems? 

We saved the glazes by placing a small dish of water in the middle of the egg platters and covering them with plastic wrap. The water dishes in the middle kept them moist and prevented them from oozing all over when stacked on the counter. These egg platters are AWESOME!

I loaded the kiln, set the temp, and pushed start! They went in looking very pastel and dull, but during the firing process the glaze turned into a waterproof glass coating over the pumpkins. 

EVERYONE LOVED THEM! The kids can't wait to take them home, but have generously agreed to loan them to me for a display in the hall case. The rest of the school is sure to love them too!