Lesson 1: Clay Theme Introduction

Materials: Images of three forms of Haida Gwaii art, sketchbook, glue, pencil,
PowerPoint, why are tools decorated sheet
Introduction
-Go over class expectations (my responsibility, their responsibility) (raise hand to
speak, ask to leave the classroom, one person speaking at a time (my turn, your
turn), anyone speaking out of turn will be leaving the classroom because its
disrupting learning)
-Show a slide with items and ask the students to brainstorm in groups, how they are
all similar. (They are all tools- items that serve a purpose)
-Define tool: an object that serves a purpose (ex. Chair, spoon, table, garbage cans,
clothes, car)
-Discuss how the items shown are decorative.
-Hand out the why are tools decorated sheet and have students brainstorm in
groups/pairs tools that are decorated
Body
-Ask, why do we decorate things? For example, why cant we just sit on blocks
instead of specially designed chairs? Do both examples serve the same purpose?
Both are functional, so what is the need for decoration?
Aesthetic/ artistic element:
-Human desire of pleasurable things
- harmony of designs creates beauty
-purely aesthetic or sometimes holds meaning:
-Sometimes decorated with values of beliefs
-Revels the artists character, the individual
-In some cases it reveals a culture and their values/beliefs
-Give each student an image of a Haida Gwaii totem pole and have him or her glue it
on the left side of the page in their sketchbook
-We will discuss totem poles as a class (in terms of form and function) and they will
write notes about it on the right side of the image
Closure

-Introduce final project of totem spoons

Sponge
-Brainstorm ideas of what three items they will include on their spoon

What other tools are decorated?

What other tools are decorated?

Lesson 2: Clay Introduction

Materials
Clay reading, Clay jigsaw booklet, numbers for each group
Introduction
-Introduce that the next unit is clay
-Explain that in order to work with clay we need to learn about some of its
properties
Body
-Jigsaw activity:
-Group students into 6 number groups (1-6). Each group will be responsible
for collectively answering their groups questions. After ____ minutes,
students will mix up and form into a group that has numbers 1-6 in it and
share their answers.
Group 1- What is Clay? & Clay and Iron
What is clay?
Why is feldspar a necessary ingredient in clay? (2 reasons)
What are the four main ingredients in clay?
What mineral is responsible for the color of clay?
Group 2- Clay and Water
What is combined water?
How can combined water be removed from clay?
What is mechanical water?
What is the difference between the two?
Group 3- Types of Clay
List 3 features for each of the types of clay:
Kaolin or China Clay
Ball Clay
Stoneware Clay
Brick Clay
Pottery Clay
Modeling Clay
What are four reasons you would want grog in your clay?
Group 4- Preparation of Clay

What does wedging mean?

Why is wedging important? (2 reasons)
What can happen if there are air bubbles in your work?
Why does this happen?
How can you prevent it from happening?
How can you prevent clay from drying out? (List 3 ways)
Group 5- Moisture Control & The Moisture Test
How can you tell if clay is too wet?
What should you do if it is too wet? (2 things)
How can you tell if the clay is too dry?
What can you do if the clay is too dry? (2 things)
Group 6- Procedure
How do you allow your piece to dry slowly?
What should the thickest area on your piece be?
What method should you follow when attaching extra parts to your piece?
What is bisque?
How many layers of glaze should you coat your piece with?
What part of your piece will NOT be glazed?
Conclusion
-

Students will hand in sheets

Jigsaw Activity
Name: ______________________________________________
Group 1- What is Clay? & Clay and
Iron
What is clay?

Why is feldspar a necessary ingredient

in clay? (2 reasons)

Group 2- Clay and Water

What is combined water?

How can combined water be removed

from clay?

What are the four main ingredients in

clay?
What is mechanical water?

What are other ingredients in clay?

What is the difference between the two?

What mineral is responsible for the
color of clay?

Group 3- Types of Clay

Group 4- Preparation of Clay

List 3 features for each of the types of

clay:

What does wedging mean?

Kaolin or China Clay

Why is wedging important? (2 reasons)
Ball Clay

Stoneware Clay

Brick Clay

What can happen if there are air

bubbles in your work?

Why does this happen?

Pottery Clay
How can you prevent it from
happening?
Modeling Clay

What are four reasons you would want

grog in your clay?

How can you prevent clay from drying

out? (List 3 ways)

Group 5- Moisture Control & The

Moisture Test
How can you tell if clay is too wet?

What should you do if it is too wet? (2

things)

Group 6- Procedure
How do you allow your piece to dry
slowly?

What should the thickest area on your

piece be?

What method should you follow when

attaching extra parts to your piece?
(Describe it)

How can you tell if the clay is too dry?

What is bisque?

What can you do if the clay is too dry? (2

things)
How many layers of glaze should you
coat your piece with?

What part of your piece will NOT be

glazed?

1 2 3 4 5 6

1 2 3 4 5 6

1 2 3 4 5 6

CLAY
What is clay? (GROUP 1)
Clay is a decomposed igneous granite that has the mineral feldspar in it. Feldspar is
the property which gives plasticity to clay, and also the property which will harden
into pottery when subjected to high temperatures in a pottery kiln. The igneous
rock decomposes when it is exposed to such natural forces as pressure, heat, water
and frost.
The most important ingredients of clay are silicon, aluminum, oxygen and water.
The different kinds of clay have these elements in different proportion; they also
have small, differing proportion of other element such as iron, magnesium, calcium,
sodium, and potassium.
Clay and Iron (GROUP 1)
The iron content of clay largely determines the colour of the finished pot after firing.
Less than 1% (in the form of iron oxide) usually gives a white colour; 1% to 2% or
thereabouts gives a cream colour; 4% a light red, 7% a rich, brick-red colour.
Clay and Water (GROUP 2)
In clay, water can be present in two forms. First, take a piece of unfired clay that is
apparently perfectly dry; it may have been standing for weeks in a warm room. Yet
it still contains water (about 10-15%) but this water is chemically combined with
the other elements of the clay, and cannot be removed by ordinary drying methods.
This is called combined water.
This combined water can be removed only by firing; when the clay is red-hot (about
700 degrees C, 1292 degrees F) it will be all gone. Once the clay has been fired and
the combined water thus removed, no amount of soaking will put it back; the fired
clay will never become soft again.
How lets consider the other form of water. Take that dry piece of unfired clay and
add water to it, giving it plenty of time to soak in. The clay absorbs more and more
water, gradually becoming soft and plastic. If you stop adding water and give the
clay time to dry out, it gradually stiffens and becomes hard again.
This part of the water content that controls the hardness or softness of the clay is
called the water of plasticity or mechanical water. The mechanical water can
be added and removed as often as you like, to make clay softer or harder.

Types of Clay (GROUP 3)

There are many different kinds of clay; here are a few of the most important ones.
Kaolin or China Clay produces a white pot when fired; but it is not easy to work
with, and it requires a very high firing temperature. Bone china, like Royal Doulton,
or Wedgewood, is very white because of the ground up bones (calcium) in the clay.
Ball Clay so called because it used to be sold in balls is usually gray in colour,
because it contains minute particles of decayed vegetable matter. It is very plastic
and strong when dry; yet it shrinks so much in drying and firing that it is seldom
used by itself, but is generally blended with other clays or non-clay materials.
Stoneware Clay contains considerable quantities of the mineral Feldspar. It works
easily, and produces strong, hard, watertight pots, in a range of colours from gray to
red-brown. But this clay requires a high firing temperature, and should be used
only by experienced potters.
Brick Clay produces red porous pots when fired (flowerpots, for example)
Pottery Clay as sold in craft stores, for use with a wheel; it is very fine-grained
and smooth. It is not suitable for no-wheel techniques except on small items say a
small dish of not more than five inches across.
Modeling Clay is a mixture of clay with a proportion of grog. Grog is clay that has
been fired, and then crushed to powder. Because of the grog content, this clay is less
sticky than pottery clay, and therefore easier to work with; it hold its shape well,
and is less likely than softer clays to sag during drying; it shrinks less in drying and
in firing than some of the pure clay.
Preparation of Clay (GROUP 4)
1. Clay must be wedged first to remove air bubbles by kneading it as if it were
dough. Use a string or wire to cut it open to see if there are still bubbles
(they are very obvious). Bubbles left in clay will trap moisture. When the
ceramic is heated, it may explode as the heated moisture tries to escape.
Besides removing air bubbles, wedging also distributes moisture equally
through a lump of clay. (You cant work the clay properly if some parts of it
are wetter than others.)
2. It is important not to over handle the clay, or it will dry out. Between
working sessions, keep it moist by putting it in a plastic bag and surrounding
it with damp paper towels. Dont use water to smooth the surface because
that causes the surface to crack. Instead use your fingers or small tools to
make the details you want. If it dries out while you are working on it, you
may lightly spray it with water kept in a spray bottle.

Moisture Control (GROUP 5)

Its essential that the clay, when you start to use it, should contain just the right
amount of moisture. If its too wet, it will stick to your fingers and tools; even if you
persist in working it, the finished piece wont hold its shape. If the clay is too dry,
you cant shape it properly; instead of yielding smoothly to pressure, it will crack
and crumble.
So every time you start work, wedge the clay first, then test it for moisture, and, if
necessary, remove the excess or make up the deficiency.
The Moisture Test (GROUP 5)
Take a piece of clay the size of a small egg, and roll it between your hands. If it has
the right moisture content, it will form a smooth cigar shape. If it is too wet, it sticks
to your hands. If it is too dry, it will crumble. If it is too wet or too dry, press the test
piece back into the main lump and proceed as indicated below.
Clay Too Wet
Lay the lump of clay on the board; roll it back and forth a few times to form a thick
cylinder; then, with a cutting wire, cut it into slices about one inch thick. Lay these
slices on a towel (terry, linen or paper) and gently press another towel down on top
of them. The towels will absorb the excess water from the clay. If the clay is still too
wet, press all the slices firmly together into one lump cut it again into slices (this
time at right angles to the direction of the first cuts) and again lay the slices between
towels. After three or four minutes, test again.
Clay Too Dry
With a cutting wire, cut the clay into slices one inch thick. Poke your finger five or
six times into each slice to make holes inch deep. Sprinkle water over the slices
just enough to wet them letting a little water into the holes (not enough to fill them
up, though). Now press the slices together into one lump wedge the clay till the
water is uniformly distributed, and then make the moisture test again.
Once you are convinced your clay is the right consistency, then continue as follows:
Procedure (GROUP 6)
3. Shape your figure, adding textural details to the surface. Allow it to dry
slowly by covering it with damp paper towels. Do not enclose it in plastic.
Because the form should dry evenly, keep any smaller, thin areas covered
with damp towels until the last.

4. Hollow out the base of your figure as it dries. No area should be thicker than
one inch. This helps it to dry evenly, but of greater concern, it removes air
bubbles in the excess clay that may explode when firing.
5. If you need to add extra parts, you may attach to different lumps of clay by
first scoring the surface. Scoring is simply a method of roughing up the
surface by scratching ridges into it with a knife or fork so the two parts will
adhere more easily. Second, cover the area to be joined with some slip (a
mixture of clay and water, about the consistency of glue). This aids adhesion
and helps prevent air bubbles between the two pieces. Before firing, clay at
this period of time is called greenware. Once air-dried, the greenware clay is
very fragile and crumbles easily.
6. Fire the figure. If any pieces break off during firing, reattach them with white
glue before painting. Once pottery has been fired in a kiln (oven), it is called
bisque. Bisque is earthen-ware or porcelain which has undergone the first
baking, before it is subjected to the glazing.
7. Glaze or paint. If you paint your piece, you will also need to varnish it later.
Any broken piece that has been attached with glue cannot be fired and must
be painted instead.
8. Glaze is a silicon based coating that when fired at high temperatures turns to
glass. Your piece must be coated with at least three layers of glaze or the
glaze will appear watery. The bottom of your piece may not be glazed
because it will stick and adhere to any surface it is put on so keep the bottom
clean.

Lesson 3: Clay Demonstrations

Materials
Clay, clay boards, spritz bottles, water containers
Resources
Clay technique video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orez0jymfiY
Introduction
-Go over procedure students will follow each class from now on
-Grab a clay board and put it on your desk, when there is 5 mins left in class,
put clay board away, clean desk area, dump out water containers, put clay
away properly (wrap in damp cloth and wrap in plastic bag)
Body
-Give demonstrations for 3 strategies for working with clay (pinch pot, coil, slab)
Pinch Pot
-Roll clay into a ball
-Push thumb in about half way
-Start pinching outwards (not curling your thumb out, keeping all fingers flat)
-You will feel the edges as you go, make sure they are even (one area isnt thicker
than another)
-If an area is thicker pinch harder, if its thinner, pinch softer
-If the top edge is getting narrow, turn it over and pound it against the ground
Coil
-Squish coil between hands to get a breadroll shape
-Use palm of hand to roll out into a coil
-If one end is getting flat, turn it facing up, then lightly karate chop it
Slab
-Hand flatten the clay
-Toss it from one hand to the other at an angle
-If you were to just drop it flat on the table, it will end up with a higher center, and
flatter edges which is not what you want
-Throwing it at an angle stretches it correctly
Conclusion
-Students clean up, wrap clay in damp cloth, form clay into a brick and stack them

Score and Slip Lesson

Materials
-Clay, clay board, plastic bag, water containers, working drawings
Introduction
-Demonstrate how to wedge clay. Ask, why is this important? What can happen if we
dont wedge the clay? What is the thickest our clay piece can be?
-Demonstrate the technique of score and slip to attach items
Body
-Students will work on their project
Conclusion
-Students will clean up their desk area

Clay Lesson Texturing

Materials
-Clay, clay board, plastic bag, water containers, working drawings, texturing video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Plkz3OPqUcI
Introduction
-

Show students video on texturing clay

Explain that adding texture creates more interest in the piece.
Have them add at least 3 textures to their project

Body
-

Students will work on projects

They may search the room to find objects to create texture with

Conclusion
-Students will clean up their desk area

Glazing lesson
Materials
-Clay, clay board, plastic bag, water containers, working drawings, glazing video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAMqyfTa7tM
Introduction
-Show students video on glazing
-Have them fill out the worksheet throughout the video
-Ask, how many coats of glaze does your piece need? Which part of your piece does
NOT get glazed?
Body
-Students will glaze their spoons
-Have them do each section 3 times, then move on to the next section (rather than
the whole thing at one, 3 times over)
Conclusion
-Students will clean up their desk area

Critique and Rationale Lesson

Materials
-Final piece, working drawings,
Introduction
- Critique the projects
-Have students discuss problems they had working with clay, things they might do
differently in future, how successful they feel they project is.
Body

-After the discussion, students will complete a written rationale/critique of their

work.
Conclusion
-Students will hand in their rationale