Teaching Clay Art and Pottery

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

My hat is off to those that enjoy teaching art to children. Just keeping a classroom of little ones(or not so little ones) quiet(or at least down to a dull roar) and in their seats seems imponderable to me. Then to actually introduce a clay topic and keep them on track and come out sane is amazing. Then to add behavior problems, equipment problems, budget concerns, grading, and all the other thing that are heaped upon the art educator, I know I would be pulling my hair out by semester one. So kudos to all of you.

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.

Handbuilding in Clay

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...

The Mighty Electric Kiln

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...

Wheel Throwing

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...

Clay History on Amazon

Clay: The History and Evolution of Humankind's Relationship with Earth's Most Primal Element

by: Suzanne Staubach

Amazon Price: (as of 12/14/2009)
List Price: $23.95
Used Price: $3.00

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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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

Here are some nonage specific clay lesson plans designed to help teach nonclay topics.

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

by: Cathy Weisman Topal

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Amazon Price: $18.21 (as of 12/14/2009)
List Price: $24.95

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The Great Clay Adventure: Creative Handbuilding Projects For Young Artists

by: Ellen Kong

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Amazon Price: $18.94 (as of 12/14/2009)
List Price: $25.95

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Exploring Clay with Children: 20 Simple Projects (Ceramics)

by: Chris Utley, Mal Magson

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Amazon Price: (as of 12/14/2009)
List Price: $22.70

Ceramics for Kids: Creative Clay Projects to Pinch, Roll, Coil, Slam & Twist

by: Mary Ellis

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Amazon Price: (as of 12/14/2009)
List Price: $24.95

The Kids 'N' Clay Ceramics Book

by: Kevin Nierman, Elaine Arima

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Amazon Price: (as of 12/14/2009)
List Price: $16.95

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 scissors, 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 iridescent 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 plastic 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 iridescent 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

This summer I was given the opportunity to offer a class to teach teens aged 12-17. I was a bit nervous but I decided to give it a go. I read quite a bit about teaching this age group and what I found didn't make me any less nervous. I read foums full of comments that middle school aged teens were near impossible to keep on task, behavior problems, and gamut of other problems. But in reality my teens have been a breeze to teach.

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)

by: Frank Wachowiak, Robert D. Clements

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Amazon Price: (as of 12/14/2009)
List Price: $128.00

GIANT Encyclopedia of Arts & Craft Activities: Over 500 Art and Craft Activities Created by Teachers for Teachers

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Amazon Price: $23.07 (as of 12/14/2009)
List Price: $34.95

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Teaching Art to Young Children 4-9

by: Robert Barnes

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Amazon Price: $36.62 (as of 12/14/2009)
List Price: $46.95

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Exhibiting Student Art: The Essential Guide for Teachers

by: David Burton

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Amazon Price: $23.95 (as of 12/14/2009)
List Price: $23.95

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Creativity and the Arts with Young Children

by: Rebeca T. Isbell, Shirley C. Raines

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Amazon Price: (as of 12/14/2009)
List Price: $95.95

Some K-12 Clay Links

Here are some links the k-12 clay teachers might find interesting.

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

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

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Lesson Plans and Projects for Almost Any Age

Lessons and projects that could be of interest to many age ranges.

Ceramic Lesson Plans: Lesson Plan PDF's provided by Axner Pottery Supply

Teaching Adults

Teaching adults has its own set of problems, while I've never as of yet had to settle an unruly classroom I have had a problem of attendance, lateness, unpreparedness, and similar things. The main problem as I see it is adults have lives, husbands, wives, kids, jobs that are continuely getting in the way of the learning process. They plan on taking a class and fully intend on coming to every one but the kids get sick, work schedules change etc.

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

The Kiln Goddess dabbles in the graphic arts too. Here some designs she has made to help promote enrollment in pottery classes.

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: 25.99

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.

The Green Potshop

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...

Making Your Own Clay

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...

College Classroom: Teachers Teaching

I've never taught college officially. I was the studio assistant when I went to college. I helped, assisted, cleaned, mixed glazes, loaded kilns, cleaned some more, and then turned around and cleaned some more. I also sat in on so many of the same lectures as an advance ceramic student and studio assistant I can quote my main ceramic professor verbatum still today.

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

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.
A Student's Perspective: I thought this was an interesting link for teachers. It is a novice student giving fellow students advice on what to expect out of a beginning wheel throwing class.

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

by: Lark

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Amazon Price: $23.07 (as of 12/14/2009)
List Price: $34.95

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Pottery for Life: A Guide for Beginning Potters and Those with Special Needs (Ceramics Handbooks)

by: Claire Botterill

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Amazon Price: $28.95 (as of 12/14/2009)
List Price: $28.95

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The Potter's Manual: Complete, Practical Essential Reference for All Potters

by: Kenneth Clark

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Amazon Price: (as of 12/14/2009)
List Price: $14.99

Thrown Pottery Techniques Revealed: The Secrets of Perfect Throwing Shown in Unique Cutaway Photography

by: Mary Chappelhow

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Amazon Price: (as of 12/14/2009)
List Price: $29.95

Art and Design at Alfred: A Chronicle of a Ceramics College

by: Melvin H. Bernstein

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Amazon Price: (as of 12/14/2009)
List Price: $36.50

Critiques

Critiquing Adult Student Art

How to Critique Artwork: A helpful approach to understanding how to critique.

Art Educator's Forums

When you have a problem, a question or just want to find like minded instructors a forum is a great place to interact with others.

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

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 ;-)

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DazzlingDesigns DazzlingDesigns Apr 21, 2008 @ 9:09 am

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

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Evelyn_Saenz Evelyn_Saenz Mar 20, 2008 @ 9:51 am

Teachers touch each of our lives. You have a great lens here. Please consider joining the Unit Studies: Fun, Active, and Creative Learning

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fortunecookie fortunecookie Mar 17, 2008 @ 5:24 pm

Sculpting is such an intricate and creative art. I am excited to increase my learning in the subject. http://www.allaboutslipcovers.com

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Noadi Noadi Oct 4, 2007 @ 4:12 pm

Really great lens! I'm hoping to start teaching a few sculpting classes this winter.

--Sheryl
Noadi's Art Fantasy Sculpture

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Thialee Thialee Aug 18, 2007 @ 6:34 am

This lens is great! I didn't realize how little I knew about clay until I began exploring this lens. Thank you!