Evenings for Educators is the museum’s monthly teacher development program. Each event features two teachers (one Elementary and one Secondary) who create and implement a lesson plan in their classroom. Attendees get a copy of that lesson plan in their folders the night of the program and also have the chance to ask the Museum Teachers questions. Each lesson references artwork from the museum’s permanent collection, ties into the theme of the program and incorporates visual art with another discipline. Please enjoy this follow up blog of the Secondary lesson plan by Museum Teacher Sue Diemer.

November 16, 2017 Museum Teacher: Sue Diemer

Fashion and clay are two words that don’t exactly go together. As a high school teacher with four classes of ceramics each day, I accepted the challenge of bringing the concept of ‘fashion’ into a ceramics project.

As I began researching the concept of apparel and accessories, I honed in on the characteristics of fashion including:

    -The texture of the fabric (lace, burlap, denim, etc.),

     -The add-ons (such as pockets, patches, loops, etc.),

     -The closures on apparel (zippers, buttons, rivets), and

     -Items such as straps, buckles, laces, and string. 

The students immediately embraced the idea of a ceramic vessel with elements of fashion and their sketches definitely showed their interest. The construction took 3-4 days, as they added all the details and textures. Then I challenged the students with a totally new glazing technique, staining the bisque-ware with a solution of black iron oxide. The students wiped on the stain and then wiped much of it away, leaving the cracks, textures, folds, etc. enhanced with the black stain. The students had their choice of adding clear glaze or leaving it simply stained. Because of this technique, all their details really stand out, although if I were to do this project again, I think I might add some details with regular glaze. The students really enjoyed this project!