The clay challenge continues ...It was time for yet another challenge. Bright colored glazes were on hiatus; earth tones and mixed media took center stage. Inspiration was provided this time by the myriad Native American potters from the desert Southwest. The project: create a coil pot that demonstrates interesting form and good artistry and reflects, through symbolism or mixed media, the culture of the Native American Indian. Virtual Visits Thanks to the Internet, my students could virtually travel to the pueblos of Santa Clara and San Ildefonso, among other places, to see the art of potters working today. The limited use of color and the use of incising were two methods I wanted my students to explore. Though we found the use of mixed media was limited, we did come across some artists who used leather straps and inlaid in·laid v. Past tense and past participle of inlay. adj. 1. Set into a surface in a decorative pattern: a mahogany dresser with an inlaid teak design. 2. turquoise in their work. Other resources included a wonderful book called Southwestern Pottery: Anasazi to Zuni by Allan Hayes and John Blom and the Smithsonian magazine from the National Museum of the American Indian National Museum of the American Indian, institution devoted to the collection, preservation, and presentation of the culture of the indigenous populations of the Western Hemisphere, a division of the Smithsonian Institution. . Both contain great photos of traditional and contemporary Native American art forms. Changing the Form Since I wanted my students to gain experience in changing form--from base, body, neck, to lip--the pots did not reflect the simple, classic style of a wide-mouthed Indian pot; a more varied style seemed to prevail. Prior to decorating the pots, students who were interested in incising designs into them made small tiles on which to practice the technique. Glazing As the tile became leatherhard, it was painted with a dark colored underglaze un·der·glaze n. Coloring or decoration applied to pottery before glazing. . Using a small wooden stylus or needle tool, students inscribed in·scribe tr.v. in·scribed, in·scrib·ing, in·scribes 1. a. To write, print, carve, or engrave (words or letters) on or in a surface. b. To mark or engrave (a surface) with words or letters. Native American symbols, revealing the white clay underneath. This practice tile ended up being a lovely piece in and of itself and could become a separate project. Colors found in traditional Native American pottery Prior to the coming of Europeans, the peoples of both the North and South American continents had a wide variety of pottery traditions. However, there is no evidence that a Native American potter ever invented the potter's wheel. as well as those symbolic of the earth and sky were allowed. Most were muted tones, though a few spots of bright turquoise surfaced. Embellishment To further embellish the pots, a table full of natural materials was set up. Options included jute, feathers, beads, grapevines, raffia raffia (răf`ēə) or raphia (rā`fēə), fiber obtained from the raffia palm of Madagascar, exported for various uses, such as tying up plants that require support, binding together vegetables , sticks, and leather strips. Once again, I was impressed to see students providing inspiration to their classmates Classmates can refer to either:
I'm continually inspired each year by what we can do with the basic coil pot and never tire of the challenge to explore it further. Note: A September 2005 SchoolArts article, "Exceeding the Challenge in Ceramics," highlighted the evolution of a basic coil pot project at the middle school level. This article offers a new idea. NATIONAL STANDARD Students know and compare the characteristics of artworks in various eras and cultures. WEB LINK www.miaclab.org/exhibits/maria/ index.html Mary Coy teaches at Spry Middle School Spry Middle School is a middle school located in Webster, New York and is part of the Webster Central School District. It was built in 1924 as Webster High School. It was reopened in to 1994 as a middle school. Spry currently has three houses; Red, White, and Blue. in Webster, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and is a contributing editor for SchoolArts. marycoy@rochester.rr.com |
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