Today was devoted to finishing Grade 6 vessels, designed in conjunction with their study of Greece. The bodies of the vessels were leather hard. They had been sitting covered with plastic garbage bags on the table, for the last 3 days.
We were working on attaching handles and smoothing out the surface. I asked for the coils to be seamless in the upper portions of the neck and the lip. A rotation of 7 groups of students came through over the day. These were the third and final 45 minute sessions. Student teachers were with us as well.
Spray bottles were vital to our building process. The clay dried out very quickly, probably from over handling and the weather (we were in the midst of a chinook). Misting both the object under construction and the working clay kept up the plasticity of the material.
Sponges were used to smooth the surface and rinsed in buckets. Because we didn't have a sink in the space, the water served the whole day. All the tools were washed in the buckets and wiped down with sponges between sessions. Clay particles settle down to the bottom of the bucket. At the end of the day, the water was poured off the top and remaining sediment was scooped out.
The coils for handles were consistently too thin. I suggested coils the thickness of two fingers so there was enough clay to pull the handles. The points of attachment were measured, then the leather hard vessel was vigorously scored and slipped to ensure a good bond.
Today was devoted to finishing Grade 6 vessels, designed in conjunction with their study of Greece. The bodies of the vessels were leather hard. They had been sitting covered with plastic garbage bags on the table, for the last 3 days.
We were working on attaching handles and smoothing out the surface. I asked for the coils to be seamless in the upper portions of the neck and the lip. A rotation of 7 groups of students came through over the day. These were the third and final 45 minute sessions. Student teachers were with us as well.
Spray bottles were vital to our building process. The clay dried out very quickly, probably from over handling and the weather (we were in the midst of a chinook). Misting both the object under construction and the working clay kept up the plasticity of the material.
Sponges were used to smooth the surface and rinsed in buckets. Because we didn't have a sink in the space, the water served the whole day. All the tools were washed in the buckets and wiped down with sponges between sessions. Clay particles settle down to the bottom of the bucket. At the end of the day, the water was poured off the top and remaining sediment was scooped out.
The coils for handles were consistently too thin. I suggested coils the thickness of two fingers so there was enough clay to pull the handles. The points of attachment were measured, then the leather hard vessel was vigorously scored and slipped to ensure a good bond.
