Handbuilt Vessels: Underwater Scene

Ross’ Year 3/4/5 class joined me in the art room today. The lesson aim was to experiment with the elements of line, form, shape and texture to create a ceramic mug inspired by the work of Courtney Mattison. Courtney Mattison is a ceramic artist and ocean conservationist who lives and works in Los Angeles. She creates intricately detailed large scale ceramic artworks inspired by the ocean. Her artwork explores the fragility of our oceans, in particular the bleaching and subsequent dying off of coral reefs.

The first part of the learning process was to build a hand-built vessel using the slab technique. The students rolled out clay into a thick, even, flat slab. They flipped the clay regularly so that it didn’t stick to their boards. I provided templates for the sides and base of the vessel. The students cut out their pieces and joined the together with the score and slip technique.

I always joke with the kids that the most important part of the process is to name their work. It certainly was today, the undecorated vessels are all beautifully formed and looked very similar.

We set aside the vessels and let them dry a bit over break time. When we returned to the art room the students began planning the ocean themed decoration to go onto their vessel. We looked at a range of mugs, vases and cups for inspiration. We revisited the stunning work of Courtney Mattison and talked about ocean preservation.

Before the students began adding the decorations I demonstrated a few ways to create underwater creatures and how to join them to their vessels. I reminded them of the all important score and slip method. Each piece of clay is etched with a cross-hatching mark on the surface that is to be joined. Both surfaces are then covered with a layer of slip (clay and water) and pressed together. The students either smoothed out the edges of the clay for a seamless finish or left the edges raised.

Doing a ceramics lesson with children is always a frenzy of fun and today was just that with Ross’ class. I love teaching students how to work with clay, it is a such a wonderful medium to develop both artistic skills as well as personal attributes. During today’s lesson the students displayed many of the learning dispositions identified in our school curriculum including curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, resilience, empathy and reflection. I had a fantastic time teaching Ross’ class and am super happy with both the process and outcomes of today.