Thursday, October 10, 2019

Food Inspired Bowl Projects In Progress 2019-20

UNIT 1:  EMPTY BOWLS PROJECT

Food Inspired Slump/Hump Mold Bowls

*PROJECT GOAL: The Empty Bowls Project is an international grassroots
effort to raise both money and awareness in the fight to end hunger. Students
will participate in Washingtonville High School’s fifth annual Empty Bowls Project
by creating ceramic bowls inspired by their favorite foods. Through the introduction
of videos, discussions, and online research, students will learn how their favorite
foods are farmed, processed, and sold, as well as why people, even in our local
communities, are struggling with food insufficiency. Students will be invited to sell
their bowls at the school’s Empty Bowls WHS Dinner & Fundraiser in March of 2020
to help raise money for the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley and the Country Kids
Food Pantry of Washingtonville. Students will learn to prepare clay, make basic slabs,
and use the slump/hump mold method to create their bowl forms. Other techniques
such as carving, stamping, relief, sculpture, and glazing will be introduced and used
to add color, texture, pattern and sculptural forms to these bowls.


































































































Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Animal Totem Vessels In Progress 2019

UNIT 4: ANIMAL TOTEM VESSELS


*UNIT GOAL:  Since the cave paintings of early humans, the visual depiction of animals has embodied great spiritual and cultural significance for cultures throughout the world. Inspired by animal symbolic beliefs and artwork from a indigenous cultures, specifically Native American art, as well as contemporary artists, students will choose an animal of personal symbolic significance. Using this chosen animal as inspiration, students will create a coil-built or wheel-thrown vessel. Both the vessel form and the vessel’s surface designs must be inspired by their chosen animal totem. Students may use any of the surface decoration techniques learned throughout the year to incorporate animal-inspired imagery/texture onto the interior and/or exterior of their vessel (carving, sculpting, relief, stamping, piercing, glazing). In addition to previous surface decoration techniques demonstrated, students will also be introduced to the underglaze techniques of painting, sgraffito and mishima with wax.


*Please note. Many of these photographs will show vessels that have been painted with underglaze. Underglaze is essentially liquid colored clay and can be painted onto the surface of the clay prior to being fired in the kiln. The colors will look dull until the work is fired and the covered with clear glaze and fired again. Projects that look milky/cloudy likely incorporated the mishima with wax technique. The milky colored wax will fire out in the kiln.