• Print
• Email

Details

Last Updated: Thursday, 22 January 2015 14:54

Designer: Josh Clark
Techniques: Wheel Throwing, Slab Building, Attaching, Brushwork
Course Length: 2 weeks
Level: Advanced, grades 5-8
Lesson Plan: Hannah Kinker-Clark

Description

For grade levels 5-8

This will help students improve upon and strengthen their throwing and handbuilding skills while learning about ocean life; specifically coral reef structures.

Objectives

• Students will learn the steps of creating with clay including wheel throwing, hand-building, construction, bisque firing, glazing, and glaze firing.
• Students will be able to focus on their wheel throwing and hand-building skills, while also incorporating ocean plant life details like sea coral.
• Students will enhance the look of their vessel, to paint sea creatures and oceanic details on their vessels by using Mayco, designer liner.

National Standards

• Demonstrate technical skill and craftsmanship in the use of materials, tools and technology to solve an artistic problem.
• Identify how an artists choice of media relates to the ideas and images in the work.
• Develop awareness and articulate various functions of art.

Part 1. Wheel Throwing:

1. Wedge two balls of clay. One ball of clay should be approximately one pound and the other approximately a half a pound.
2. Using the one pound ball of clay throw a basic cylinder using the outside of the lip as the starting and ending points.
3. Net, using the half-pound ball of clay, throw a shallow dish where the inside of the top lip is approxinately an eighth of an ince larger than the measurement taken above on the cylindar. Allow form to dry slowly to a soft, leather-hard state. 
4. Once the dish is leather-hard, flip it over and trim it on the wheel into a smooth round surface. Be careful not to remove too much clay. Cover with plastic to keep at the leather-hard state.

Part 2. Coral Lid Construction:

1. Roll out coils of clay and use a squeezing technique to create the basic shape of branching coral.
2. Using a pin tool or a pencil, poke dots into the form to create a texture of coral. Once satisfied with the shape and texture, allow form to dry slowly, to a leather-hard state.
3. When leather-hard, attach the branching coral form to the upside down dish (lid for the cylinder).
4. Let the cylinder and lid dry completely until they are no longer cold to the touch. 
5. Bisque fire to cone 04.

Part 3. Surface Design:

1. Begin with properly fired cone 04 bisque. Moisten a clean sponge and wipe bisque to remove any dust.
2. Using the the varied Designer Liner colors, SG-401 Black, SG-403 Red, SG-404 Blue, SG-405 Green, SG-406 Brown, SG-407 Yellow, SG-408 Orange, draw an underwater scene. Allow surface to dry completely. 
3. Paint the entire surface of the cylinder with S-2101 Crystal Clear Brushing.
4. Using SC-89 Cutie Pie Coral, paint three soild coats to the coral form. Be careful not to drip any on the rest of the lid. Allow glaze to dry completely between coats.
5. Using SC-11 Blue Yonder, paint three soild coats to the rest of the lid and inside of the cylinder form. Allow glaze to dry completely between coats.
6. Stilt both pieces and fire to cone 05/06.