WHATCHA GOT HANGING AROUND YOUR NECK?

PUEBLO POTS

CERAMICS I

clay, sawdust firing, metallic rubbing compounds & embellishments

This is a Native American coil pot technique that I learned by studying the works of

 famous Native American Potter Maria Martinez.

The kids love the technique,

and their pieces are much admired by our faculty and staff.

Here we have proud young 8th grader Eugene Ho who is sporting his pot around his neck.

Adorable, right??

Am I lucky or what to teach at this wonderful school with these sweet kids!!

They crack me up  LOL

Another hanging beauty was done by junior Christina Hur. 

I think it's really cool how she put the beads at the juncture between pot and rope,

and then carried them up the hanging device.

One of my personal favorites was this one above by senior Payal Morari.

I just adore the asymmetry of it all,

with it's simple strung beads and organic folds.

So incredible beautiful!

Just like it's maker  xoxoxox

And what a clever embellishment on this one,

a suspended spider's web.

Who are you????

Ahhh, 8th grader Lindsey Chang.

I was very fortunate this year to have so many talented 8th graders take my classes,

and how seamlessly they melded with the older kids.

most of them anyway, ha ha ha

This sweet one above was created by junior Klyne Madayag.

Notice the impeccable craftsmanship she uses to string the beads with.

This very pretty feather bowl was done by senior Ankita Batra.

Notice the lovely colorways she has rubbed onto both the inside and outside of the piece.

And then she brings the inside color out with her beads.

And what an interesting finish on the top of this work by senior Asha Bhakta,

and note the gorgeous embellishments she has added to compliment it so perfectly.

A great piece to end with was made by senior Laarnie Barcelon.

Her use of embellishments takes this way beyond my wildest dreams,

and makes me one happy teacher.

Native American Coil Pots - Student Work

This beauty at the top was created by senior Nikki Shah.

One of my personal favorite assignments with my Ceramics I students are showing them how to construct a pueblo pot using a tool called a poki in place of a potter's wheel.  It's a very shallow clay pinch bowl that I pre-made for the kids (I have a set of 40 so they have a few choices in size).  After I made them I sawdust fired them for a very nice finish.  Each kid starts with this as their wheel head, puts a swallow pinch bowl inside and attaches coils and spins it as they build upward.  Next year I will try to remember to post the process.  I also have the students smooth out the coil lines on both the inside and outside of their pots.  Then they burnish them like crazy with smooth river rocks.  They also pre-plan their embellishment design so they know where to pierce their holes for later beading and such.  After bisque firing I sawdust their pieces, then the kids have a choice as to how they finish them with either a glue/water mixture to seal them or with metallic rubbing pigments.  Then they embellish for their final grade.  The results are quite lovely as you will see.

Below we have this gorgeous piece by junior Justyn Li. 

Love how senior Sandra Osuji turned her top lip over, and those feathers are the perfect adornment.  And clever junior Aditi Ramesh used leather and raffia for a super combination. 

Senior Lilith Huang went for a more subtle look with the metallic, leather and beads.  Stunning Lilith!  As always  :)  And then senior Kevin Luong got the most wonderful markings from the sawdust firing on the outside of his piece from the pine needles we put in for fuel.  I love the simple drawn line in the clay at the bottom, a brilliant design ploy, then using the metallic to emphasize it, and balancing the top with the beads. Notice those larger red/white beads?  I earned those when I was in Camp Fire Girls in the 7th grade.  They are red/white/blue and symbolized good citizenship.  I donated them so the kids would have more bead choices.  I love that Kevin used them in his pot. He has a part of me in his work :)

And lastly we have senior Kristen Palmer.  She also thought to make a simpler statement with her blue metallic rub, leather and beads.  Perfect!

I hope you all enjoyed seeing the results from this year as I have enjoyed sharing them with you.  To see more, search my blog and the last 2 years worth will come up.

Coil Pots- Native American Style

I haven't done this assignment since the late 80's with my Ceramics I kids, but I brought it back this year, and  so glad I did.  The kids enjoyed the project and we had many really nice results.  Years ago I made a full class set (over 35) of these fairly small clay pinch pot bowls in various sizes called pokies (not sure of the spelling anymore).  So each child picks one that looks the most interesting to them and builds their coil pot inside it.   They use the pokie as a support, and as they build upward they use it as a wheel head to turn their work as they go.  It's like a potter's wheel head or a banding wheel.  When I made these pokies, I bisqued then sawdust fired them so that the clay will pop out when they are done with their pot.

This top pot was one of my favorites and was made by sophomore Ann Munoz.  I love the metallic compounds that she rubbed over the sawdust fired finish, and of course the stitching along the top edge.  

As the students were building their pots I asked them to be thinking about what they wanted to embellish with at a later date.  So, did they need to poke holes in the walls to dangle things from, or to weave fibers thru?

These next 2 above were done by seniors Alice Cho and Priya Shah.  See how Priya punctured holes around her rim but then she didn't use them to dangle anything from, instead they work as surface design.  She definitely took the easy way out, but guess what, it works  :)

Below senior Michael Marin alternated buttons and beads for a really good look along the side of his pot.  And look also at the beautiful sawdust markings on the pot.  Lovely.  You never know what you are going to get when you sawdust, but usually it's always a nice surprise.

Once again, this assignment was done during the end of the school year so they had to scavenge thru the trinkets left in the classroom, or bring in their own.  I feel the kids came up with some very creative solutions.

I bisque and sawdust fired their pots then they had a choice as to their finish.  They could brush on watered down glue to seal them and give them a slight sheen, or they could rub them with metallic finishes.  But they all had to embellish.

Above we have seniors Andy Hwang and Sagar Shah.  I was really impressed with the shape Andy was able to achieve in this coil technique.  And I like how Sagar finished his piece off with metallics, stitching and buttons.

Below senior Shavonna Walker did some really cool embellishing with waxed linen, braiding and beads.

Junior Fernando Jacinto went all out on his bowl above.  Great use of color, and other findings from my goodie boxes.  I also really like the uneven edge treatment.  It makes the piece look more organic.  Great job Fernie!  

Another favorite of mine was completed by sophomore Tahnee Thantrong below.   Tahnee is a fabulous designer and I'm really looking forward to working with her again next year.  Notice how she necked the shoulder area in and squared it off?  And then added those sweet handles?  With the perfect embellishment? Brilliant!!!

And look at this beauty by senior Lorena Morales.  Love the incised decoration inside, and then how cool the sawdust finish looks as well.

Senior Michelle Lee is next with this fun feather piece, a bit of wire, waxed linen and beads.

And lastly, this very contemporary looking sculpture by junior Rita Labib.  Rita chose the largest pokie, and instead of doing a typical ending, used some ripping, and manipulating of her rim to get a really gorgeous looking piece.  Rita choose to put her embellishment in before the firings.  She pushed nails right into the clay when it was still plastic for a great look.  

Rita has also inspired me for next school year.   I think I'm going to require the kids to come up with an asymmetrical ending, so that no one ends up with a traditional looking piece.  And look at how lucky she got with the sawdust finish, fabulous markings.