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| Shark Zoomorphic Vessel by Brantley |
Clay! Students are always excited to see the clay come out. It is even more exciting to see the final pieces glazed and fired! 8th graders recently completed a ceramics project that was originally started right before the Christmas holidays. They studied the art of PreColumbian cultures in Central and South America, and then based a design on the zoomorphic vessel. PreColumbian artists made clay containers in the shapes of animals such as jaguars, birds, and reptiles. Sometimes the vessels were ceremonial and sometimes they were for everyday use:
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| Dog Vessel, Mexico, 500 - 100 B.C. |
Students brainstormed several thumbnail sketches before deciding on the final design, and then they got to work. Clay is a lot of fun to use, but the engineering aspect can be tricky! The pieces had to be no more than 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick, and stable. Thick areas had to be hollowed out. Figuring out how to make the pieces stand up without falling over was a problem several students had to solve! Also, how to support soft clay was an issue, as well as how to create thick enough details. How do you keep an octopus arm or the tail of a cat from breaking?
We worked on these for several weeks and let them dry over the Christmas holiday, then the pieces were bisque fired in the kiln. We glazed them with several layers of low-fire glaze, and fired them again in the kiln. Voila!
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| Cat Zoomorphic Vessel by Zach |
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| Character Zoomorphic Vessel by Amber |
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| Dog by Jasmin |
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| Butterfly bowl by Jada |
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| Turtle Lidded Jar by Julianna |
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| Bank by Haleigh |
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| Character Vessel by Jaylen |
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| Snake Vessel by Aaron |
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| Octopus Bowl by Meagan |
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| Character Vessel by Brittain |
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| Bird Mug by Angel |
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| Fish Container by Mason |
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| Deer Mug by Kelsey |
