Submitted by: Woody
Duncan - Rosedale Middle School, Kansas
Grades 8 - 9
Lesson: Ceramic Personal Portraits
Objectives:
- Students will use draped slab and slab method
to create a relief sculpture - adding coil and slab decoration.
Students will exhibit craftsmanship in handling clay.
- Students will study facial features and form them in clay
Preparation:
Make sketch of idea for relief portrait.
Procedures:
1. Roll slab of clay between guide
sticks. Slabs should be 3/8” thick. Cut slab to desired shape for
sculpture base. Maximum size of base 9"x 14" -- most should be no
larger than 9"x12".
2. Press a slab of clay into face
mold. Force a little extra clay into nose and chin. Put
newspaper inside face for support -- un-mold. (Note: the molds for the
face were made by pressing plastic mask forms into plaster. I had one
mold for each table)
3. Position face onto base -- cut out
extra clay behind face. Secure face to base shape by scoring and
applying slip.
4. Add border design to base --carve,
incise, or stamp additional textures to border. Add on relief
coils, slab decorations as desired.
5. Add features to face. Make a
self-portrait if desired (see examples). Study proportions of the
face. The eyes should be the same width as the nose. The
inside corners of the eyes should line up with the crease of the
nostrils. The corners of the mouth will line up with the center
(pupils) of the eye. Add thin coils for eyelids and lips.
Press in iris and pupils. Make slight impression under nose for
filtrim.
6. Add additional relief elements to
express your mood or feeling (jewelry, hair, plants, animals,
textures). Remember to score and slip both surfaces.
7. Underglaze and glaze after bisque
firing. You may choose a bronze patina - or aluminum (silver)
patina
Materials:
Newspapers - plaster face molds - plastic bags - clay - rolling pins - guide sticks - canvas - slip
ceramics modeling tools - assorted stamps - assorted texture “gadgets” - glazes, underglazes, brushes
For Patina:
Brown, black acrylic paints, brushes, Gold, silver spray paint, Rub 'n buff
Student work in progress (Below). Students rolled out a
slab of clay and draped it over plastic face molds. It
is recommended to use a separator between the mold
and clay. Plastic wrap works well or paper toweling. In previous years, Woody has had the students
make their own plaster face masks using gauze strips.
These molds were then used to form the face. See
examples on his school site. A co-worker of mine had
the students use the plastic face molds and press
clay to the inside of the mold (using a plastic wrap
separator) - then supported the clay with newspaper.
Finished relief sculptures were glazed.
Vocabulary:
Draped slab, slab, pinch, coil, press mold, slip , score, leatherhard,
bone dry, bisque, fire, kiln, underglaze , glaze, patina, carve,
incise, stamp
