Arts
Teaching Clay Art and Pottery
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Welcome
Welcome to the Kiln Goddess' Clay Pit of Teaching Clay Art and Pottery. This is another lens in the continuing series of lenses created for clay workers and clay wantabees. This lens will focus on helping clay art educators and teachers find online resources to help teach their students how to work with clay no matter if they are children or adult. Please feel free to suggest links that contain info that you think would benefit clay art teachers.
Teaching Children
Help for the Clay Instructor
- Pottery Crash Course for Beginners
- A page written for educators who know nothing about working with clay but find themselves in need of clay and kiln knowledge.
- Working with Clay Index
- A page written for teachers with brief glazing and firing instructions. Some projects for students are linked from this site.
Kiln Goddess' Clay Pit Lenses
Here a few of my other lenses that I feel might be of use to the clay art educator.-
The Mighty Electric Kiln
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Welcome to the Kiln Goddess' Clay Pit of Electric Kilns. Electric kilns are kinda like big, really powerful ovens. They are the least scary kiln to fire. There is no flame, no gas, no fire box, no loud roar, no drama. But she is powerful and can get...
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Wheel Throwing
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Welcome to the Kiln Goddess' Clay Pit for Wheel Throwing. The Kiln Goddess is a big fan of the wheel. Centering is so grounding, physically, mentally, and spiritually. To create on the wheel never looses its magic, the pottery seems to magically form...
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Handbuilding in Clay
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Welcome to The Kiln Goddess' Clay Pit for Handbuilding in Clay. Explore some handbuilding techniques, projects and resources for the clay artist and potter. Some of these techniques have been in use since man first touched clay, creating both pottery...
Clay History on Amazon
Clay: The History and Evolution of Humankind's Relationship with Earth's Most Primal Element
Amazon Price: (as of 10/06/2008)
List Price: $23.95
Used Price: $3.50
While not a pottery book it is a great clay book. This book explores mankind's relationship with clay from man's first molding of clay to current industry uses of clay A great book to learn about the history of clay use. Very easy to read. A great resource.
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Your Students?
Elementary Lesson Plans and Ideas
- Ceramics are All About Us
- Lesson Plan for grades 1-4. Very detailed. Lots of room for variety of approaches. I think this could easily be adapted for older children or even beginning adults. Could be used in both a history/cultural lesson or background for a clay art lesson.
- Shoe Bugs
- An easy project to make a crawly looking bug. The concept is cute but the project seems to be lacking the step needed to attach the bug parts to each other. The author merely lays the clay layer on top of each other then add pressure when really slipping and scoring is needed to attach the different overlapping clay parts securely.
Middle School Lesson Plans and Ideas
- Face Vessels: Original African American Folk Art
- A lesson plan aimed at Middle Schooler (Adaptable to elementary and high school). This lesson explores southern African America ceramic culture between1810 and 1865. This lesson covers both slab and coil techniques.
High School Lesson Plans and Ideas
- Pottery with Artist Kerry Moosman
- This lesson introduces students to the techniques used in constructing and decorating a burnished coil pot using a coiled, burnished example of artist Kerry Moosman. Lesson is geared towards students in grades 9-12.
Clay Lessons for Learning
- Communicating with Clay
- An interesting clay project to help students learn sign language.
Clay Classroom Tips
- Teaching Tips For Clay
- A PDF file of helpful hints of working with clay with younger children.
Children and Clay Books on Amazon
Children, Clay, And Sculpture
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Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 10/06/2008)
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The Great Clay Adventure: Creative Handbuilding Projects For Young Artists
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Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 10/06/2008)
List Price: $24.95
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Exploring Clay with Children (Ceramics)
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Amazon Price: (as of 10/06/2008)
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Ceramics for Kids: Creative Clay Projects to Pinch, Roll, Coil, Slam & Twist
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Amazon Price: (as of 10/06/2008)
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The Kids 'N' Clay Ceramics Book
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Amazon Price: $16.95 (as of 10/06/2008)
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Easy Clay Projects for Kids
- Wearable Clay- A fun project is to make amulets to wear around the neck or on a keychain. This could be a Mother's Day or Father's Day project to make gifts for mom or dad or they could make it for themselves.
You need an assortment of simple cookie cutter shapes i.e. circles, squares, triangles etc. A small clay slab about 1/4 of an inch thick for each student. Things to press into clay to make texture i.e. lace, burlap, netting, shells, buttons, rubber stamps, etc. Something to make a hole, a drinking straw is perfect. And cording such as jute, hemp, ribbon, or yarn.
For younger children have the rolled slabs prepared, older kids let them roll their own with a rolling pin. Allow the kids to press the texture making materials into the clay surface then have them cut out a shape(or more than one shape) in the slab with a cookie cutter. Take away the unneeded scraps of clay surrounding shape. Ask child where they want the hole for the cord to go or allow them to make the hole themselves. Dry slowly under plastic on a flat surface so the clay shapes won't warp. Bisque then either fire with glaze or paint with acrylic paints. String cord through hole and knot where length will allow to slip over head or attach to keyring. - Winter Snow- This would be a great winter project or a project to do in conjunction with teaching about seasons or weather.
Materials needed sissors, sheet of thick paper(construction paper is good), one pound of clay per student, rolling pin, dull thin knife like a potter's fettling knife, something to make a hole(again a drinking straw is perfect), white irridescent glitter, white acrylic paint or white glaze, white glue, and white yarn
Have your students fold up a piece of paper and cut a snowflake shape that is about 3-4 inches in diameter. Then have them roll out a slab of clay about 1/4"- 3/8" thick and slightly larger than the snowflake cutout. Place unfolded snowflake on surface of clay. Using the fettling knife cut out the shape of the snowflake following the lines of the cut out paper flake. Cut the exterior outline first and if the students snowflake has holes cut those out too. Using the straw, make a hole for a yarn string to eventually go. Dry the snowflakes slowly on a flat surface under plaster to prevent warping. Bisque then either paint with white acrylic or glaze fire with white glaze. After paint is dry or glaze is fired have student lightly coat with white glue and sprinkle with irridescent glitter if they would like. Let glue dry and string up with white yarn. These now can be hung up in the classroom in a window and shine in the sun.
Teaching Teens
My First Forray into Teaching Kids
My classes have been made up of mostly younger teens, more in the 12 years range than the 17. My first semester was all girls. Quiet(near too quite), sincere workers, kept mostly on task. The semester went smoothly and the 5 weeks were near problem free.
My current semester has brought me a mix of exactly half boys and half girls. So far, although a bit more noisy, the kids keep on task and are very eager. They have separated themselves into a 2 groups, boys at one end of the tables, girls at the other. The girls are very detailed oriented, working on one piece a long time. The boys like to use alot of clay, its bigger and more for them.
I am finding teaching my teens quite interesting and will likely do it again next summer. I am still quite in awe of teaching little ones tho. There is a kids craft camp going on in the room next to mine for 3-7 year olds, my what chaos that can occasionally blossom into. :)
Teaching Children Art Books on Amazon
Emphasis Art: A Qualitative Art Program for Elementary and Middle Schools (8th Edition)
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Amazon Price: $105.59 (as of 10/06/2008)
List Price: $117.33
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GIANT Encyclopedia of Arts & Craft Activities: Over 500 Art and Craft Activities Created by Teachers for Teachers (GIANT Encyclopedia)
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Amazon Price: $23.07 (as of 10/06/2008)
List Price: $34.95
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Teaching Art to Young Children 4-9
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Amazon Price: $41.35 (as of 10/06/2008)
List Price: $45.95
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Exhibiting Student Art: The Essential Guide for Teachers
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Creativity and the Arts with Young Children
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Some K-12 Clay Links
- The National K-12 Ceramic Exhibition Foundation
- Website for the annual juried ceramic competition for Kindergarten through Grade 12 (K-12) students in the United States.
More Kiln Goddess' Clay Art Lenses
Here are some lenses with some ideas that might inspire lessons.-
Unglazed Surface Design
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Welcome to the Kiln Goddess' Clay Pit of Surface Design. Come join our exploration into the surface manipulation of clay. Clay is such a tactile medium both to the maker and the user. Surface design is so important. Your surface may be smooth as glas...
Location, Location, Location
Teaching Adults
Since I teach in a community adult education classroom I can be fairly lenient since no grades are given but absences and lateness can have a negative impact on a class. One summer I was teaching a class, it was a very small class to begin with but as weeks went by one by one my students had other commitments that took them away from the classroom, soon my small class was just a few students and the energy that students get from working around each other was lost in a big echoing classroom.
Handouts for You or Your Students
- Handouts for Beginning Hand Building Class
- John Norris shares these 12 printable handouts that he allows educators to print and distribute via a Creative Commons license. Topics include pinch pot, coil. and slab projects with other handouts on what is clay, what is glaze, what is firing, how to glaze etc. Handouts are perfect for high school, college, or adult classes.
Kiln Goddess Created Teaching Wearables on CafePress
I Teach Pottery Tote Bag
Here is great tote to carry all your books and stuff to the classroom. Perfect for advertising the fact that you teach pottery.
Price: 15.99
I Teach Pottery Value T-shirt
A perfect shirt for the pottery teacher. It is a great way to help advertise year class.
Price: 14.99
I Teach Pottery Women's Plus Size Scoop Neck T-Shi
Get people talking about your class with this fantabulous shirt promoting your teaching.
Price: 30.99
I Teach Pottery Organic Cotton Tee
Get people talking about your class with this fantabulous shirt promoting your teaching.
Price: 22.99
I Teach Pottery Cap
A perfect hat to tell the world what you teach.
Price: 17.99
More Kiln Goddess' Lenses
Here are some of my lenses that might interest the clay art educator in a budget minded class or studio.-
Making Your Own Clay
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Welcome to the Kiln Goddess' Clay Pit about Making Your Own Clay. There are two basic methods to making your own clays, either to buy the ingredients or dig your own indigenous clay from the ground. Lets examine the process for both. This lens as all...
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The Green Potshop
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Welcome to the Kiln Goddess' Clay Pit of Being Green. What do I mean when I say green? No, I'm not talking about all you green clay newbies out there. I'm not referring to greenware either. When I say green I mean recycling, reducing and reusing, a s...
College Classroom: Teachers Teaching
During my time spent at college I got to observe the teaching styles of 5 different ceramic instructors and got to see quite a few visiting artist give workshops. Unknowingly, I was not just absorbing the information on clay but I learned a lot about teaching and a lot about learning. They all seemed to have a very different approach to teaching, two of them stood out.
My first semester teacher was a sweet, gentle teacher. She always had something positive to say and doled out the compliments lavishly. She was a great beginning teacher. She was very supportive and is very likely the reason I continued to take the next level of clay classes. I was never blinded to the fact that my pots were thick walled heavy little door stops by her compliments but it was nice that she believed I could succeed.
My second semester teacher was a very skill potter and a long time professor. He had so much knowledge about clay in his head it would leak out. Personally, he was going through a rough patch at home. I didn't know this at the time and thought he was too aloof. He was prone to give his lecture and then disappear. That semester I was never so glad to have had my first teacher so as to be grounded in techniques. I got to know this teacher over the next many semester. As he left his problem behind he became a great teacher and I would call him a friend. The style he eventually taught in is the one I closely emulate because I saw its effectiveness.
He was very hands off. He gave a demo. Then would excuse himself and go to the kiln room or his office for a short while letting the students start the days task. Then he would be back just walking around having conversations with the students. This is when the clay knowledge would start to leak out and spill all over the ground. I learned more from this informal knowledge spillage/teaching than his demos.
Glazes
Need help purchasing commercial glazes for your classroom? Perhaps this series of lenses will help you decide.-
Commercial Glazes
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Open up any clay and pottery supply catalog and you are greeted with a huge collection of glazes to choose from. This is great to have so many to choose from but what glaze should you pick? This series of glaze lenses will hopefully help you wade thr...
Ways of Learning, Ways of Teaching
- What is Your Learning Style?
- It is good to be aware of the different learning styles of your student and how you as a teacher can help your students learn in a way that is helpful to them. Here are some tests to determine your learning style.
- Adult Learning Patterns
- Five different patterns in adult learning behavior and motivation discussed.
Students with Special Needs
- Making Art Activities Work for Students with Special Needs
- Helpful advice for adapting projects work for students with various special needs.
Clay Techniques and Project Books on Amazon
The Penland Book of Ceramics: Masterclasses in Ceramic Techniques
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Amazon Price: $34.95 (as of 10/06/2008)
List Price: $34.95
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Pottery for Life: A Guide for Beginning Potters and Those with Special Needs (Ceramics Handbooks)
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Amazon Price: $27.50 (as of 10/06/2008)
List Price: $27.50
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The Potter's Manual: Complete, Practical Essential Reference for All Potters
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Thrown Pottery Techniques Revealed: The Secrets of Perfect Throwing Shown in Unique Cutaway Photography
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Art and Design at Alfred: A Chronicle of a Ceramics College
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Critiques
Critiquing Adult Student Art
- How to Critique Artwork
- A helpful approach to understanding how to critique.
Art Educator's Forums
- Fine Art Teacher Chatboard
- An active forum of teachers helping teachers.
- Teacher's Toolbox
- A friendly forum discussing a variety of teaching concerns.
- TeacherArtExchange
- An educators listserve sponsored by The Getty.
Visit All Kiln Goddess' Lenses
This lens links to all of my clay art and pottery lenses plus other clay and art information.-
May the Kiln Goddess Smile Upon You
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Welcome to the Kiln Goddess' Clay Pit. Here you will find a great collection of clay, clay art, and pottery related links, books, and other resources. What ever your clay interest, I am sure you will find some great discoveries. Have fun exploring. H...
Suggestions and Feedback
I welcome your feedback. Would you like something added? Know a good link or book? Did I manage to misspell something? Did you find a dead link? Let me know, afterall this Kiln Goddess isn't all knowing ;-)
A really nice 5-Star lens! If I didn't create in gemstones, I would create in clay. Please feel free to stop by my Custom Handcrafted Jewelry lens. Thanks, Donia
Handmade Beaded Jewelry Gallery
Posted April 21, 2008
Teachers touch each of our lives. You have a great lens here. Please consider joining the Unit Studies: Fun, Active, and Creative Learning
Posted March 20, 2008
Sculpting is such an intricate and creative art. I am excited to increase my learning in the subject. http://www.allaboutslipcovers.com
Posted March 17, 2008
Really great lens! I'm hoping to start teaching a few sculpting classes this winter.
--Sheryl
Noadi's Art Fantasy Sculpture
Posted October 04, 2007
This lens is great! I didn't realize how little I knew about clay until I began exploring this lens. Thank you!
Posted August 18, 2007
Art Teacher Gear on CafePress
DVDs and VHS from Amazon
African Pottery Techniques
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Amazon Price: $24.95 (as of 10/06/2008)
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Ceramic Animal Sculpting DVD
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Introduction to Throwing on the Potter's Wheel (VHS)
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- Teaching Children
- Help for the Clay Instructor
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- Clay History on Amazon
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