During this unit, students learned how to work with the pottery wheel, how to make a clay tile, how to glaze, but also how to cast plaster. They also researched ancient greek pottery, and produced a process page on how exactly to make a jar on a pottery wheel, since the process is often long, tedious, and requires a lot of patience, knowledge, and skill. The hardest part of pottery, is definitely waiting. 🙂
By creating a carboard box, putting clay in it, pressing objects there, and then pouring plaster in a specific ratio, students created plaster casts. These are two artworks out of many created during the class.With clay and firing, there’s a lot that can go wrong. Before the students made their jars, which were the final assessment, they first learned basics by creating these tiles and other objects.The results were beyond awesome, considering that for the most students, it was their first time ever working with a pottery wheel and or glaze. Each jar is fully functional, and can serve either as a plate, bowl, glass, or a vase. The glaze we use here doesn’t contain lead, so it’s food safe. I think we can observe students personalities and creativity with each jar, since as long as they meet the criteria, they are absolutely free to design their jar in any way they like.
This unit was a great success, and I’m happy that each student was able to finish their project in high quality. Our next/current unit is focused on painting, and I already think that it’ll be another amazing unit, full of impressive art.
