Student Showcase!

We are making stuff all the time. Sometimes I forget to post it. Here is some stuff that's been happening in class!

 

Some Finished Spoons

Red clay with a wipe of black glaze dipped in clear. It was challenging to fire them, but worth the effort!

Recipes from the Art Room

Our recipes for humanity...

Period 2

22 Spoonfuls of Hard work

9   Spoonfuls of Honesty

7   Spoonfuls of Loyalty

7   Spoonfuls of Patience

6   Spoonfuls of Passion

5   Spoonfuls of Curiosity

5   Spoonfuls of Forgiveness

4   Spoonfuls of Respect

3   Spoonfuls of Acceptance

3   Spoonfuls of Creativity

3   Spoonfuls of Flexibility

3   Spoonfuls of Friendliness

3   Spoonfuls of Hope

3   Spoonfuls of Humility

3   Spoonfuls of Imagination

3   Spoonfuls of Optimism

3   Spoonfuls of Relability

3   Spoonfuls of Zing

2   Spoonfuls of Common Sense

2   Spoonfuls of Compassion

2   Spoonfuls of Kindness

1   Spoonful of Silly

Period 3

7 Spoonfuls of Love

5 Spoonfuls of Compassion

4 Spoonfuls of Forgiveness

4 Spoonfuls of Honesty

3 Spoonfuls of Courage

3 Spoonfuls of Curiosity

3 Spoonfuls of Humor

3 Spoonfuls of Integrity

3 Spoonfuls of Kindness

2 Spoonfuls of Balance

2 Spoonfuls of Bravery

2 Spoonfuls of Determination

2 Spoonfuls of Optimism

2 Spoonfuls of Silly

2 Spoonfuls of Wisdom

1 Spoonful of Ingenuity

1 Spoonful of Laughter

1 Spoonful of Mindfulness

1 Spoonful of Passion

Period 4

11 Spoonfuls of Love

9   Spoonfuls of Loyalty

7   Spoonfuls of Kindness

6   Spoonfuls of Hope

4   Spoonfuls of Cheer

4   Spoonfuls of Empathy

4   Spoonfuls of Faithfulness

4   Spoonfuls of Generosity

4   Spoonfuls of Imagination

4   Spoonfuls of Peace

4   Spoonfuls of Wonder

3   Spoonfuls of Care

3   Spoonfuls of Determination

3   Spoonfuls of Laughter

2   Spoonfuls of Balance

2   Spoonfuls of Energy

2   Spoonfuls of Equality

2   Spoonfuls of Freedom

2   Spoonfuls of Sacrifice

2   Spoonfuls of Serenity

2   Spoonfuls of Tolerance

1   Spoonful of Manners

Period 10

21 Spoonfuls of Common Sense

5   Spoonfuls of Authenticity

4   Spoonfuls of Acceptance

4   Spoonfuls of Optimism

4   Spoonfuls of Zing

3   Spoonfuls of Mindfulness

3   Spoonfuls of Selflessness

3   Spoonfuls of Serenity

3   Spoonfuls of Silly

2   Spoonfuls of Compassion

2   Spoonfuls of Peace

2   Spoonfuls of Sacrifice

1   Spoonful of Drive

1   Spoonful of Energy

1   Spoonful of Enthusiasm

1   Spoonful of Equality

1   Spoonful of Forgiveness

1   Spoonful of Fun

1   Spoonful of Tolerance

1   Spoonful of Willingness

1   Spoonful of Wisdom

Spoonful of Humankind

Students of Ms. Kiick, please complete this form by Feb 17th.

Student Midterm Presentations

Here are a few links to student midterm presentations. Created on educreations app. So many of my students did a great job...(too many to share all of them)....but these stand out. Great job everybody!!

Taylor

Ryan

Danielle

Handbuilding video links - lots to learn!

There aren't enough hours in a school day for me to demonstrate every technique or process to my students. Luckily, there are so many great teachers and amazing ideas out there to watch and learn from! Here are a few I have come across.

Ceramic Arts Daily is a happy place!  Be sure to scroll down each page, some have multiple video links on the same topic

Handbuilt forms with soft slabs

Building a slab vase (leather hard slabs)

Handbuilding: texture and surfaces

Midterm Project/Presentation Requirements

The multi-media assignment was introduced on December 18th and the students will be working on it in and out of class during the first three weeks in January. Students should come prepared to hit the ground running on creating and documenting their midterm piece beginning on January 5th.

Students will be required to create a functional or decorative piece and will photograph it throughout the evolution of its construction. The piece must be constructed of at least three different components to create a new and unique form. The finished work must be able to fit in a shoebox.  (For an example: the piece featured above consists of 5 components - a foot, 2 bowls to create a sphere and 2 conical forms. However, it is larger than would fit in a shoebox.) The size limitation is due to the time constraint of building a larger piece.

The photographs will become part of a narrated slideshow where the student explains his/her intentions, techniques and process. The slideshow will be created on their iPads using the educreations app.

Ceramic Work = 50 points.
Narrated Slide-Show = 50 points.
The mid-term assignment requirements and rubrics are available here.

Ceramic Lanterns

We are creating clay lanterns. Included is my demo/sample.

Students are required to design the overall form and create a plan of attack to construct it applying the handbuilding skills they are developing. Students are also required to design the cut out...and of course, cut them out! That's the hard part!

As part of their research for design inspiration and possibilities, I am encouraging them to check out these links to different cultures and artists who work with cut paper. Cutting clay is a VERY different experience than cutting paper - but seeing the possibilities are always inspiring.

German paper cutting: Scherenschnitte
Chinese Paper Cutting

Beatrice Coron
Peter Callesen
Bovey Lee

Stay Up to Date with Our Progress!

Student work on our HTHS Ceramics Pinterest Board!  Click here!

Links for Inspiration and Research

Lakeside Pottery - great ideas for slab construction

Here are a few Pinterest links to check out for clay:

I just started my own.

Ms. Kelly Gartland is one of my former students! HTHS 2003 - Art teacher at Moorestown HS :-)

Shannah Dean - ceramics board

Clay Stages

or.... SoPoLoGoBoGo as I call them! Slip, Plastic, Leather Hard, Greenware, Bisque and Glazeware.

My students are learning the clay stages. To help them remember, they made a list of descriptive words for the stage they were assigned.

Here is what their descriptions for the four middle clay stages look like when made into a wordle! :-)

Written Assignment

My ceramics students only:

Please complete this form for the clay stage you were assigned in class.

 

Dirty hands = Engaged minds

We have been busy and learning so much! Students have created several bowls, test tiles for glazing practice and a cup. So far we have glazed our bowls and are beginning the work on our multi-technique vessel. More pictures coming soon!

Learning by Doing

The students are creating some functional pieces as an introduction to the clay stages. We are building up the basics and getting our hands dirty as we develop skills to create bowls, mugs, cups and vases.

Look at 'em go!

Our Handmade Sketchbooks!

Our first project in ceramics didn't even involve clay! We created our own sketchbooks from fabric swatches that were donated to the department.

Students will use their sketchbooks throughout the year as a place to take notes, draw out their ideas or write down glaze layering recipes. Here are some photos of our books.

Signing Off with a Signature Stamp

The students' stamps are ready to use! Fun stuff. Can't wait to see them embossed in the clay!

Chop Chop!

...here we go!

For our first assignment, we are creating signature stamps. In China such stamps are called a Chop, and in Japan, they are called a Hanko. These traditional Asian seals are used to sign documents, artwork and other paperwork.

The students will:
• develop a design that functions as a unique, one-of-a-kind signature stamp
• carve it into a 1.5 inch EZKut print plate 
• use it to emboss their signature into their ceramic work