Middle School students have been focusing on the Art element of form using various clay processes and techniques. They have especially enjoyed working on the pottery wheel as it is a wonderful, tactile experience that encourages self-expression and develops motor skills, all while having a calming effect on the child. Each step of this process engages both the body and the mind. After completing their piece, it was then fired once in the kiln, glazed with food-safe glazes, and fired a second time to vitrify the glaze.

The main project we’ve been focusing on is creating a clay room using slab-building and other hand forming techniques. Students were asked to design and make an interior model of a room of their choice. First, we discussed a brief history of the diorama as an art form, a way to record history, and as an architectural and interior design modeling tool. Students were then asked to sketch and plan their room design and decide what type of room they wanted to create. After rolling out three slabs of clay cut into squares using templates, they constructed the floor and two walls of their room model. More strategizing and planning came into play when the students had to construct and organize the objects in their room to fit to scale. This project was designed to enhance the students’ understanding of perspective, scale, and design as well as to introduce them to new clay forming techniques.