Ceramic Monsters

Submitted by: Lindsey Pearce, Newman Smith High School, Carrollton, TX
UNIT: Ceramic - Sculpture (career connection)
Lesson: Hollow Form - Beasties that never were
Grade Level: High School (adaptable to middle school)

 

Summary:

Students use pinch method to create hollow forms. Slab cylinders for legs, coil and slab decoration. This could have a career ed tie in - designing a creature for a film. The above images are all made by the same student who is doing a 3-D concentration on monsters. Jane Hankins is one ceramic artist used for inspiration.

 

Objectives: Students will

• Gain appreciation for Medieval art - Gargoyles/Beasties

• Design an original monster

• Create a hollow clay form - combine hand building techniques

• Demonstrate craftsmanship in construction and glazing

            
Click images for larger views

 

Materials:

Newsprint for sketches - pencils
White Sculpture Raku Clay
Canvas Rolls (For kneading the clay on. This will slowly dry the clay)
Clay Modeling Tools
Rolling Pins and guide sticks
Newspapers and/or balloons (optional)
Glazes, Underglazes, Assorted Brushes

Resources:

Gargoyles - Medieval Beasties
Optional: Oaxacan wood carved monsters and Paper Mache monsters

Ray Harryhausen - See IAD's news about the father of animation. He created creatures that he animated using stop-motion sequence.

Animated video - Monsters, Inc. (See some clips)

Book: A Little Book of Gargoyles - Gargoyles have stood for centuries warding off evil. They reached their flowering in the Middle Ages yet their story goes far beyond that time to the very beginnings of art, when man created demons to scare away demons. This book depicts the many fearsome faces of these monstrosities throughout history.

 

Instruction/Motivation:

1. Show examples of creatures made for animation films - show short film segments

2. Show slide/PowerPoint of Gargoyles

3. Review hand building techniques - demonstrate hollow form for body. Review scoring - correct way of attaching pieces -- NOT to trap air.

4. Review glazing

Procedures:

1. Make several sketches of monsters. Select best design for clay. Make a plan for construction (beginning with hollow body form - made with two pinch pots).

2. Make hollow body form - form two pinch pots - trim top edge so edges will meet. Score and slip edges and fuse seam. May use balloon to keep shape rounded (remove balloon before firing). May use newspaper to support form (remove before firing - or allow to burn out in Kiln). Clay should not be more than ½ thick. Paddle form to desired shape. Make pin holes on bottom for air to escape.

3. Form cylinder legs. Make hole in body where legs are to attach. Do not trap air. Score and attach using Slip.

4. Form two pinch pots to make head - fuse together... attach to body (be sure to poke hole in neck though to body.

5. Make thick coils for arms... form hands and feet. Attach when leather hard (score and apply slip).

6. Add extra details - hair, wings, etc.

7. Check to insure no trapped air - poke pin holes in thick parts - Fire when bone dry

8. Apply underglazes/glazes and fire.

9. Write a reflection about the monster - compare/contrast to gargoyles/beasties of the middle ages. Write a story about the monster.

10. Extension - make a movie poster of monster showing environment.

Alternate finish: Acrylic Paint, Paint Markers and puffy paints (see Oaxacan wood carvings for inspiration)

 

Rubric:(adapted from Marianne Galyk)

 

Assessment Rubric
Student Name:						Class Period:
Assignment: Ceramic Monster						Date Completed:
Circle the number in pencil that best shows how well you feel that you completed that criterion for the assignment.		Excellent	Good	Average	Needs Improvement	Rate Yourself	Teacher’s Rating
Criteria 1 – planning sketches and plan for construction. Written reflection		10	9 – 8	7	6 or less
Criteria 2 – Design and construction of monster		10	9 – 8	7	6 or less
Criteria 3 – Glazing - aesthetics		10	9 – 8	7	6 or less
Criteria 4 – Effort: took time to develop idea & complete project? (Didn’t rush.) Good use of class time?		10	9 – 8	7	6 or less
Criteria 5 – Craftsmanship – Neat, clean & complete? Skillful use of the art tools & media?		10	9 – 8	7	6 or less
Total: 50 (possible points)	Grade:					Your Total	Teacher Total

 

Student Comments:

Teacher Comments:

 

National Standards: Standards covered would depend on how much art history your bring in

 

1. Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes	2. Using knowledge of structures and functions	4. Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures	5. Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others
Students apply media, techniques, and processes with sufficient skill, confidence, and sensitivity that their intentions are carried out in their artworks	Students demonstrate the ability to form and defend judgments about the characteristics and structures to accomplish commercial, personal, communal, or other purposes of art	Students differentiate among a variety of historical and cultural contexts in terms of characteristics and purposes of works of art	Students identify intentions of those creating artworks, explore the implications of various purposes, and justify their analyses of purposes in particular works
Students conceive and create works of visual art that demonstrate an understanding of how the communication of their ideas relates to the media, techniques, and processes they use	Students evaluate the effectiveness of artworks in terms of organizational structures and functions	Students describe the function and explore the meaning of specific art objects within varied cultures, times, and places	Students describe meanings of artworks by analyzing how specific works are created and how they relate to historical and cultural contexts
	Students create artworks that use organizational principles and functions to solve specific visual arts problems	Students analyze relationships of works of art to one another in terms of history, aesthetics, and culture, justifying conclusions made in the analysis and using such conclusions to inform their own art making	Students reflect analytically on various interpretations as a means for understanding and evaluating works of visual art