May 2009 - This is an easy fun project for kids and novice potters. Roll slab (any size), impress with interesting textures, including the soles of shoes, place slab on piece of foam (upholstery foam works great), center a block of wood or other rigid surface on top of the slab, press down firmly to create the rim of the plate. Adapted from "Plate-O-Matic", Pottery Making Illustrated, June 2008.
11 Photos
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This post marks the end of my after school clay class and is the last project that we made. We met for the very last time on Tuesday, May 19th – a fact that makes me a little sad, but also happy in that my future holds different opportunities now. I haven’t been as attentive to blogging as my routine normally dictates. Lots of little activities are interrupting the flow of my schedule – parties, field trips, ceremonies and finally the school comes to an abrupt halt on Friday at 10am when my daughter will collect her 5th grade “continuation” certificate in a final ceremony. I don’t know about her but, I’m excited for the future (both hers and mine).
Meanwhile, I’ve been reading up a storm. I am attempting to do all the recreational reading that I can stand before school starts for me mid-August since I know that everything I read after August 16th will most likely be landscape/ecology related . I just finished The Handmaid’s Tale and Falling Angels this week and am looking for a few more good reads. I have Pollan’s Botany of Desire and What is the What and by Dave Eggers at the ready right now.
Read anything good lately?
Cynthia
Shoe soles l-r Danskos, Tevas, Skechers
Please excuse my fun with homophones, but my students and I played around the other day in clay class with our shoes and some clay. While packing up unsold pots after the Colorado Potters Guild Spring show last weekend, I stopped to talk with Penny Woolsey, who also teaches clay classes to kids. I picked up one of her unsold pots which was a really cool plate with a textured rim, when she remarked, “Haven’t you ever made soul pots before with your students?” Of course, she didn’t mean “soul”, but rather “sole”. She explained the project to me and I thought, “Perfect!” – this is what we’ll make in the next class.
But, first, I had to try the project at home to make sure the kids could handle it. I set off for my closet in search of cool soles and came up with 3 pairs of shoes that worked – Danskos, Tevas and Skechers – yep, I’m practical that way aiming for comfort over style.
After rolling out a slab and cutting the basic shape - use a shoe to print texture into the clay
I used all three shoes for a variety of textures and only printed on the rim of the plate. Some of my students printed the entire slab with very cool results. The kids had a great time comparing cool sole textures and mixing and matching. I’m not sure anyone had ever looked at the bottom of their shoes before – I know I don’t normally make a practice out of it.
Using the "plate-o-matic" technique, I placed the slab on a piece of upholstery foam and used a wood block to press down in the center which causes the rim to pop up - presto magic instant plate
I saw this in a Pottery Making Illustrated article last year and really loved the technique. The article is easily found but is a direct download – so if you’re interested here’s the pdf version: Plate-O-Matic.
Leatherhard sole plate
My plate is drying and I didn’t get any photos of the kid’s plates taken because I decided to go ahead and load the kiln yesterday. I’m not firing till the weekend, but it’s another busy week and I’m trying to save time when and where I can.
Tomorrow, I head down town with my daughter’s class for the Denver Shakespeare Festival. It’s a lot of fun, but also exhausting. Most of the K-12 schools in Denver Public Schools are participating. It’s fun to see everyone all dressed up in period costumes and at their thespian best.
It’s almost the weekend,
~Cynthia
April 2009: These tiles were made for Mother's Day gifts by my students. We rolled slabs of clay and using 6" square chip board templates (I made these in advance of class), the students cut their tiles. Afterwards, the kids drew images and words on newsprint and cut out their shapes which were used as paper stencils. The placed their paper stencils on their tiles and painted underglaze over top. As soon as the underglaze was dry to the touch, we removed the paper stencils. The tiles are currently drying in my studio under sheet rock (to keep them flat) and will be glazed clear after being bisque fired. Made using low fire white earthenware.
8 Photos
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Yes it’s true – Mother’s Day is only weeks away. With that in mind, I had my kids make a practical gift for their Moms. The kids weren’t super thrilled about tiles – but hey – what Mom can’t use a tile in the kitchen? I know I always need more and would rather use one my daughter made than some generic store bought one.
For these tiles, I had the kids roll a texture on the reverse side so that the tiles will be slightly raised in areas – I’m imagining that these could be used as a buffer for hot serving dishes to protect a table top. We used hand made paper stencils for the designs – I have to say that I really like the way they turned out and look forward to seeing them glazed which should bring out more intense colors than seen on my computer screen.
Meanwhile, I decided to grow up a little – I removed my nose ring yesterday and it’s already closing shut. I fear though that it’s going to leave a small scar where the hole once was [I'm not really afraid of the scar, it will be a good reminder that it was once there, a symbol if you will 
]. No one has noticed which is good – means I won’t miss it and must be the only person who can see the evidence. I think nose rings are attractive, but don’t want to be the woman trying to look younger than she is – tends to have an opposite effect imho.
With that, I close – perfect day to hit the studio – expecting temps in the 80’s today,
~Cynthia
Kimono Trio - low fire white earthenware
I unloaded the work made by the kids enrolled in my clay class from my kiln yesterday and was quite pleased with their creations! Last week, I stressed that they needed to take their time decorating their work because quite frankly, sometimes they get sloppy. Like me, they much prefer making work rather than glazing, but I feel like we have to produce some keepers every now and then – I owe that to their parents.
Kimono, Brittany 4th grade
Brittany’s is one of my favorites – I think she really has a nice color compostion and I also like the way she incorporated multiple textures into her kimono.
Kimono - Lily 2nd grade
Lily’s is another favorite – as a 2nd grader, I can see she’s a natural artist! The fade from yellow to orange is fantastic…. We also played, who’s smarter than a 2nd grader last week. She amazed us all by spelling antidisestablishmentarianism. None of the other kids could match her – smart kid!
Kimono - Jasmine 5th grade
My daughter is one of those kids who sometimes rushes through the projects in order to do free clay – I reminded her last week that this is one project that I’m hanging in our gallery, so she had better do a nice job. I’m not disappointed!
Jackson Pollock inspired Kimono
Rhiannon has been in my class from the beginning and she often leads decorating/making trends for the others. I don’t mind the Jackson Pollock inspired decorating, but sometimes it gets a little over done. I think the art teacher did a unit on JP, and the kids are enthralled with spashing and dripping paint nowadays. 
Another Jackson Pollock inspired Kimono
And yet another Jackson Pollock inspired Kimono
My two third grade peas in a pod, Samantha and Laura made the two obviously related clay kimonos. Can you see the similarites in color choices and glaze application? One thing I always tell them is to cover their pieces completely with glaze or underglaze – I don’t want to see any white of the clay. They think I’m a glaze nazi…. They always tell me that my philosophy doesn’t match their artistic vision (not exactly their words…) – I think they forget that black has to come last since it’s such a powerful color.
Before today’s class, I’m going to add the wood dowels and wire – these will look super cool hanging on a wall.
Meanwhile, after shoveling 10+ inches of snow and pulling out our winter clothing last weekend here in Colorado, I’m back in flip flops and short sleeves. Spring has decided to return – yay!
Have a great week,
~Cynthia
