Teapots, pitchers and more teapots. All participants start with exactly the same templates. And somehow some way each teapot and pitcher comes out spectacularly different. The potter’s personality can not help but become infused in the piece. I LOVE the feeling of a completed circle of energy and enthusiasm that happens when the students inevitably do things I’ve never seen before. A treat all around. And here they are!
At Linscott School where the illustrious Miles (my 12 year old) attends there are not what we generally think of as “Electives.” Instead the middle school has several “exploratory” courses to choose from. The selection of courses changes every three months or so. The sessions are 1.25 hours long and occur twice a week. Last November I undertook teaching a ceramic hand building exploratory to 14 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Among the techniques they learned were rolling slabs, joining clay, texturing clay, making pinch pots, and finding ways to personalize pots. Here’s several slide shows of the beautiful creative things they made.
The first project was a soap dish and a candle holder. Various small sculptural surprises appeared as warm ups for a larger sculptural project to come. The next more difficult project was a mug. Students were encouraged to personalize their mugs with texture and/or imagery.
The final project was “the orb.” Students began by making two pinch pots. These were then joined together by scoring and moistening their rims. A coil was added over the join for reinforcement. Once the orb was sealed so that it was filled with air and allowed to firm up a bit students could pound and paddle the orbs into a desired shape. They had four requirements to complete the project:
- It had to be completely covered with texture and embellishments.
- It must have some kind of attachment(s) on it.
- It must include some use of a contrasting color of clay.
- Any large additions to it must be hollow as well.
Beyond that there were no restrictions. Some made their projects abstract and some went with realism. When given the opportunity there is never a lack of ideas with Linscott students. Such an abundance of creativity!
And here are the fabulous final projects glazed!
Nov 7 Corralitos workshop
Feb 16
Here they are at last. Fabulous fotos of wonderful work made by stupendous students.
From 1991 to 2010
Nov 5
Long time no post. Recovering from the most amazing Open Studios ever in 18 years. Many connections, opportunities, and dollars were raised. Thank you all who came by! Here’s some funnies to note the changes that have occurred over the years for me as an artist and member/student of my family and teacher/student of kids at Linscott School for 9 years now.
Once again I undertook mask making this time with my son Miles’ sixth grade class. Teacher Seth and I showed examples of masks from different regions and cultures from around the world. A writing prompt was given: “How and why do people create masks? What’s their purpose historically?” There were, of course, no wrong answers. Then each student received a slab of clay and off they went. They are an astonishingly creative bunch!
School’s over in 5 weeks. Ack! I’ve made about a dozen pots since Christmas. Where did the time go? Too many bon bons with my feet up as I watched the soaps I guess. Couldn’t get the pool boy to make the pots for me. Oh… I guess I was a bit occupied doing art with the talented kids at my kids’ school. Here’s some highlights of what I did during the 2009/2010 school year. Reid is a third grader in a multi-age grades 1 through 3 classroom called Rainbow Room and Miles is in a sixth grade classroom called Fox Landing.
Rainbow Room made tie dye T-shirts in September. They learned about the color wheel, primary, and secondary colors, and how to make yuck when you mix them all together! The kids were soooo much easier to keep track of on field trips in these shirts!
In November the sixth graders in Fox Landing made paper mache globes out of punch balls to understand world geography up close and personal. Now just how DO those continents fit together and what oceans are between them??
Next the sixth graders made block prints using styrofoam and printing them on thin slices of the cross sections of branches. They focused on the marine food chain. The class was divided into three groups: producers (plant plankton, plant life which other animals feed on), primary and first level consumers (animal plankton, crabs, small fish, etc.), and upper level consumers (sharks, whales, birds, etc.).
For holiday gifts the kids in Rainbow Room made clay luminarias. They contained candles which glowed through the holes when lit.
More marine life was created in sixth grade. This time they created mixed media fish emphasizing the difference between warm water and cold water fish in color and form.
As part of an experiential unit on ancient Egypt sixth grade students made khats and salt dough jewelry. First teacher Seth divided the students into groups representing nomes (city states in ancient Egypt). He had them make fabric khats for their heads which they decorated with symbols referencing their nomes. Traditionally khats were worn by nobility in ancient Egypt. Next each group chose a central symbol for their necklace which characterized an important concept or religious belief which was held by their nome. Each nome had gods and beliefs which held special significance for their region. Many more “lesser beads” were made as well, followed by painting and stringing.
Rainbow Room made clay masks this spring. They have been “traveling the world” studying different continents. They were shown examples of masks from Indonesia, China, and Africa they learned about their significance in different cultures.
My first time teaching at the Corralitos Cultural Center came off without a hitch. Lots of great work and new friendships were made. We even had three people who’d never touched clay before. Betcha can’t tell which ones they were!
And here’s the lovely results from their electric kiln. Note the two mugs in the very front with mauve glaze and the triangle bowls and planter were made by people who’d never touched clay. Wow!
Feb 20 Los Gatos workshop
Feb 23
bowls and mug made by a talented slab builder
Great pots and great workshop participants. A grand time it was!
talented slab builder Margaret
Shirley appearing to have already filled her mug with wine
talented slab builder Katherine
Elaine impersonating a rat
Oh thank God, finally a decent picture
It is virtually impossible to capture the teacher looking intelligent. Damn we have a good time and learn a lot though.
press mold planters
Feb 23
These are examples of the many planters I’ve made by lining big plastic planters or large metal bowls with pieces of clay. In both instances I lined the interior of the press mold with dry cleaning plastic before filling it with textured ripped up slabs. The hanging ones were made by adding holes in the rim of pots I’d made in a restaurant size metal salad bowl.
porch planters
hanging planters