UNIT 3 UNIT TEST: Pottery Wheel, Monoprint Mugs, and Human Rights Sculpture

Ms. Held's Clay Classes will take their 3rd Unit Test on Thursday, 3/30 (B day) and Friday, 3/31 (G day). This test is 20% of the MP3 grade and will consist of 20 questions, which will be a combination of multiple choice, short answer and true/false. The vocabulary covers our pottery wheel lessons, Monoprint Mug project and our upcoming Human Rights Sculpture project.

WASHINGTONVILLE HIGH SCHOOL

CLAY

INSTRUCTOR: MS. HELD & MS. KEARNEY

UNIT 3 VOCABULARY

POTTERY WHEEL TERMINOLOGY:

1.     Throwing: The process of spinning a ball of clay on a pottery wheel to create an open form or vessel. This process has been in use for over 4,000 years. It originated in Mesopotamia. The centrifugal force of ancient and modern wheels allowed potters to make or “throw” symmetrical and balanced pots, vessels, bowls, and other containers. The first pottery wheels were made of wood or stone and were powered by hand, kicking, or pushing with a stick.

2.      Centering clay: Centering involves pushing/squeezing the spinning ball of clay until it rises (called coning up) and then pushing the clay back down. This process is repeated until the clay is spinning without a wobble. The clay must be centered or you won’t be able to throw a symmetrical pot. When centering, the pottery wheel is typically spinning at a high speed.

3.      Foot Ring: A foot ring is a neat ring, trimmed into or added onto the bottom of a clay pot. The foot ring helps to remove excess clay at the base of a wheel thrown pot. Foot rings are typically not glazed and allow the pot to be glaze fired without sticking to the kiln shelf.

4.      Pulling a Handle: Process by which you use your hand and gravity to pull a sausage of clay into a handle for a clay vessel.

CERAMIC SCULPTURE TERMINOLOGY:

1.     Form- An element of art that is three-dimensional and encloses volume, and includes height, width AND depth.

2.     Functional Form- A ceramic form or vessel created with the intention to use for a purpose other than decoration. (ex: to store or cook food; to drink or eat out of).

3.     Sculptural Form- A ceramic form or vessel created to communicate an idea and/or to be decorative. A sculptural form does NOT have a practical use (ex: to store or cook food; to drink or eat out of).

TECHNIQUES YOU CAN USE TO MAKE YOUR HUMAN RIGHTS SCULPTURE:

1.     Slab-Building- A clay technique in which a form is built up by joining clay slabs together.

2.     Wheel-Thrown Sculpture-Sculptures in which part or all of form is made on the pottery wheel would be considered wheel-thrown sculptures. Sculptures that are made on the pottery wheel can be functional or sculptural.

3.     Modeling- To form the clay by pressing, pushing, pinching with the fingers and tools. One can model clay using the subtractive or the additive methods:

a.     Additive Sculpture Method- Adding new pieces of clay to your existing form to create a desired shape or details. When clay is plastic (wet) you can simply add clay by pushing the clay onto your form with your fingers. However, once your form has become leather hard you must add new wet clay to the leather hard clay using the score and slip method.

b.     Subtractive Sculpture Method- Removing, tearing, or pushing away pieces of clay away from a solid form to create a desired shape. This can be done with your fingers or a variety of tools. Hollowing-out and carving are subtractive techniques.

MONOPRINT MUG TERMINOLOGY:

1.     Monoprinting- A form of printmaking where the image can only be made once. This process is unlike most forms of printmaking, which usually produce multiple prints.

2.     Underglaze- Colored slips formulated to have low drying shrinkage, allowing application to bone-dry or bisque fired surface before glazing. Underglazes come in a wide palette of color options and fire true to color.

3.     Coil Building- A hand building method used to create vessels. Potters have used this method for thousands of years. Coils of clay are stacked on top of each other by scoring, slipping, and fusing the coils together. This method creates the height and shape of the vessel.

HUMAN RIGHTS TERMINOLOGY:

1.     The United Nations: The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization established in 1945, to promote international co-operation. The headquarters of the United Nations is situated in Manhattan, New York City.  Its objectives include maintaining international peace and security, promoting human rights, fostering social and economic development, protecting the environment, and providing humanitarian aid in cases of famine, natural disaster, and armed conflict.

2.     Human Rights: Human rights are moral principles that describe certain standards of human behavior, and are regularly protected as legal rights in national and international law.   

3.     The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December of 1948. The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled.