Snail Scott on sun 28 apr 02
At 01:12 PM 4/28/02 -0400, you wrote:
>...how to schedule bisque and glaze
>firings in a way that gets everything done in 2 weeks.
Skip the bisque. Let them glaze greenware. Police the
work for thick spots and perforate them well with
a needle tool, then just candle for a few hours
before closing the lid. It's amazing how well most
stuff survives this, if the thick spots are vented.
Avoid red glazes if you do this, though. My experience
is that if you just tell them that red is too difficult/
expensive, they'll deal with it OK. They don't mind
explanations that are over their heads, as long as
they get the gist of it, and it sounds like a 'real'
thing. They like to tell their friends and folks all
about how glaze is made from different kinds of rocks
all ground up, and how it's especially hard to make
the red colors, etc.
I like to use underglazes with kids, especially the
younger ones, since they can see the color 'for real'
in the jar and when they paint. If this exceeds your
budget, try making up some homemade underglazes using
stains as the colorants. Just make a big uncolored
dry batch, and dole it out into 100 gram batches to
add the colorants separately. Much cheaper! And you
can always whip up more of the popular colors. You
can make your own clear glaze, or if you decide to
use the commercial stuff, at least you can buy it in
quantity sizes.
Or, if you can talk them out of doing functional
pottery, just paint the stuff. The kids I've taught
adore the idea of pottery they can use, (and the
Montessori types will insist!), but you may be able
to have more closely specified 'decorative only'
projects, and simply say, "No, you can't eat out of
it when you're done". (Kids are used to being told
that what they're doing isn't like 'real' stuff,
but that's sort of a shame, I think.)
-Snail
D Malchman on sun 28 apr 02
Hi All,
I'll be running the ceramics program at a camp this summer and I'm a bit of
a novice at clay, so I could use some words of wisdom from you old-timers!
I'll be teaching 6 classes/day in two week cycles all summer (Saturdays and
Wednesdays off), and I'm trying to figure out a)what projects to do with 2nd
to 8th graders that dry quickly, and b)how to schedule bisque and glaze
firings in a way that gets everything done in 2 weeks, yet doesn't leave any
"dead" time with the kids twiddling their thumbs. Should I just keep the
kiln running on low around the clock to dry the pieces? Should the last
couple of days focus on un-glazed or underglazed pieces, with the final day
a critique and wrapping day? HELP! And THANKS!
Caryn
Mimi Stadler on sun 28 apr 02
Caryn,
With 2 week cycles you have no time to slow dry anything or fire slowly,
either. 04 clay, 06 glaze, force dry everything on the porch railings and
fire, fire, fire fast. Candle the kiln if you have time,fire the bisque in
8 hours and the glaze in 6. No skinny appendages, no thick parts.
If you want project ideas, e mail me off list!
Mimi Stadler, NJ, USA
>Subject: Camp Curriuculum and Firing Schedule
>
>
>Hi All,
>
>I'll be running the ceramics program at a camp this summer and I'm a bit of
>a novice at clay, so I could use some words of wisdom from you old-timers!
>I'll be teaching 6 classes/day in two week cycles all summer (Saturdays and
>Wednesdays off), and I'm trying to figure out a)what projects to do with
>2nd
>to 8th graders that dry quickly, and b)how to schedule bisque and glaze
>firings in a way that gets everything done in 2 weeks, yet doesn't leave
>any
>"dead" time with the kids twiddling their thumbs. Should I just keep the
>kiln running on low around the clock to dry the pieces? Should the last
>couple of days focus on un-glazed or underglazed pieces, with the final day
>a critique and wrapping day? HELP! And THANKS!
>
>Caryn
>
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Carole Fox on mon 29 apr 02
Dear Caryn,
Here's an idea for you- On Monday and Tuesday make small tiles and small =
ornaments for use in a windchime project. Fire them late Tuesday, =
candling overnight on into Wednesday. They should be cool by Thursday =
when you will cold finish them and use them to make mobiles and ,on =
Friday,a small grouted tile mural.=20
Sometimes, on my last day of camp, I will do a raku firing(kids prepare =
the pits and cans, but I do the removal of pots). Try not to limit =
yourself to glazed ware for the last week of class. You can make =
sculpture projects and paint them with acrylic paint on the last day. =
Paint dries pretty fast on bisqued clay.
You can also do a polymer clay project on the final day, if you have a =
toaster oven to spare. It seems expensive, but you need to keep the =
work miniature. Teach them how to make a patterned cane (millefiore-sp?) =
and use it to make beads or maybe the shell of a small turtle.
If you are left with any time on your last day, then grab a hunk of soft =
clay and play..."Clay it, Don't Say It!". Write down some ideas of =
things (such as kinds of food or animals or toys) on small slips of =
paper. A child picks a slip and has to quickly pinch the clay into that =
shape while the rest of the class tries to guess what it is. Like =
charades, there can be no verbal communication from the maker. The same =
clay is used over and over until it begins to dry out. If you don't want =
to deal with recycling, you can pick up some modeling clay just for this =
purpose- but keep it all the same color, if you can.
Also, you could pull prints from a clay tile- check out clayprinting =
video by Mitch Lyons. Of course you wouldn't have to get the best =
quality materials- you would have to experiment with cheap stuff.
Good luck and take your vitamins- it'll take a lot of energy to teach =
clay to all those kids!
Carole Fox
Elkton, MD
cfox@dca.net
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