Urbana Middle School

This lesson served as an intro to ceramics that will be built off of in subsequent grade levels and art classes. Students participated in a critique of the Olympic medals, discussing the symbolism and purpose of medals and medallions. Using this knowledge, students explored identity, deciding on something about themselves they want to represent and/or celebrate in a ceramic medallion. Through this lesson, students learned a variety of foundational ceramic skills such as slipping and scoring, slab rolling/building, carving, and glazing. 

This lesson built upon previous watercolor lessons in the 7th grade 2D art class. Students learned about color theory and value, implementing these concepts in a whimsical landscape painting inspired by the work of David Hockney. In our critique of Hockney's work students discussed the vibrant and otherworldly colors. We discussed the use of color to make a location look better than life, and with this in mind, students thought of personally significant landscapes (real or fictional) that they wanted to represent in a painting. This lesson allowed students an opportunity to explore landscape elements, color, and value without the complications of proportion and perspective. 

This project built off of ceramic techniques learned in previous grade levels, and was the culmination of the student's ceramic knowledge. In a critique of Greek kylixs and Egyptian canopic jars, students explored the tradition of hand-built ceramic pottery and the simultaneous utilitarian and decorative functions of ceramics. Using this information, students designed and created their own functional ceramic vessels. They used their knowledge of color theory and texture to plan the details and design of their ceramic vessel.