Post a New Question | Current Questions | Live Experts | Download
Homework Help: Art: Visual Arts: Pottery
by Francis Moutechesko
Making pottery with clay is commonly one of the funnest activities for children in an art class. You get to make a mess with your hands, and for people who aren't the best at drawing, pottery making seems to be just right!
Since you're probably familiar with the fact that pottery is the results of dried clay in the shape of some sort of container, we'll get a little more detailed in pottery making. To become a really good pottery maker, you should know the three main branches of pottery. First, you should know the different types of pottery making. Next, you should be familiar with the different shapes that are included in pottery. Last, when you're ready to shape your pot in more advanced ways , know the steps to making pottery on the wheel. Now you'll become a pro-pottery maker!
First, you should know the different types of pottery making. The first way is to pinch. This is easy to understand; you just pinch the top edges of your pot to make "waves" or other fun shapes. Pinching is most commonly used by the Spanish when they make their bowls. The second type of pottery making is to slab the clay. Slabbing the clay making your pottery by rolling the clay around a rolling pin or something of similar shape, and then taking the rolling pin out of the clay leaving a cylinder-like shape in the clay. It's probably the easiest way to make a round shape. The last type of pottery making is coiling the clay. First, you separate little fractions of the clay and then roll it with your hands against the table to make spaghetti strips. After you have enough spaghetti strips, stack them up into a spiral shape to make the round walls of your pottery. This is probably the longest technique, but the result is a bit more unique (and fun).
Next, you should be familiar with the shapes in pottery. A convex shape means that there are no holes, gaps, curves, or waves; probably like a drinking glass at home. The second shape is called concave. This means the shape has no holes or gaps, but does come with waves and curves. An example of a concave pot might be a flower vase with no holes or gaps but with waves and curves at the top edge of the vase. The last shape is the monolithic structure. This means the pot has holes, gaps, curves, and waves! You might imagine one of these to be one of those old Egyptian clay pots with all of those holes in them.
Last, when you feel comfortable with easier ways, a more advanced way to construct pottery is using the famous wheel! First, take the clay you have and center it on the wheel. You can just eye the center as best as possible, but even better would be to look for a center groove on the wheel or something that indicates the center. Start the wheel (that's an obvious one) and while it's spinning, put your hands around the clay. Slowly try to raise it by lightly grabbing the sides and pulling them up. The purpose of pulling them up is to make it gain height. When you've got your clay at a desirable height, you can slow down the wheel or stop it completely and shape the clay into anything desirable. While using the wheel, make sure you are being watched by a teacher or adult to make sure you are staying safe with it. There are a chance your hair may get caught in the wheel which would be quite painful!
Homework Help is NOT responsible for the bad results that occur from looking at any pages or following any instructions; especially this one. We will not be responsible for clay waste, injuries at the wheel, etc.
Homework Help: Art: Visual Arts
For Further Reading
|
