Van Gogh Coil Pots
![Picture](/uploads/5/7/7/1/5771549/6564129.jpg)
Beth Conover
Title: Slinky Van Gogh Bowls
Grade: 6-7th
PA Academic Standards For The Arts And Humanities: 9.2.5.C- Relate works in the arts to varying styles and genre and to the periods in which they were created. 9.3.5.B-Describe works in the arts comparing similar and contrasting characteristics. 9.4.5.C-Identify the attributes of various audiences’ environments as they influence individual aesthetic response.
Objectives:
Knowledge: Students learn about the artist Van Gogh and about impressionism in the 1880’s. They will also learn about coil pots and clay manipulation.
Skill: Students learn how to use clay coils to create a bowl/ pot. They will also learn how to join pieces together as well as blending and smoothing. This project will help the students become more familiar with the material as well as fine-tuning their fine motor skills.
Attitude: Students learn to be aware of different forms of art and how they relate. They will also become more aware of art from different era’s as well as other countries. They will also become more aware of color blending with glazes.
Prepare ahead: Gather visuals, former student examples, information Van Gogh and the Impressionist Era, slides on coil pots, and supplies.
Prior knowledge: Students have knowledge of the elements of art, and have had some experience with clay and how to join it together. They also have some knowledge of glazes.
Motivation:
Questions leading the students to discovery:
Good morning class. Raise your hand if you have seen this work of art before. Good that’s great! Can anyone tell me what it is called or who its by? Right, it is Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh. Does anyone know what time/ movement Van Gogh painted in? Well let me give you a description of how he painted and then maybe you will remember. Van Gogh adopted the ways of some new artists and began using brighter, high-keyed colors on his palette. During this period of time the artists began going outside and painting quicker little snap shots (impressions) as opposed to sitting inside their dark studios for hours. This allowed their painting to become lighter and because of their real time/ real life subjects they were able to portray movement. So now can anyone tell me what art movement this was called? Did you remember? Right it is called the Impressionist period, because they painted more of an impression as apposed to a still life or portrait. So lets look at more of Van Gogh’s work and see how loose and choppy his style got. He used short strokes that really give the viewer an impression of movement and texture. So, how does this relate to the clay pots that we are going to start? Well, I was flipping through this art book and I saw Van Gogh’s ink painting and immediately thought of coil pots. So I wanted you to see how 2-D and 3-D art can be similar and have common characteristics. Okay, so really quick here are a few picture of coil pots next to some of Van Gogh’s work so you can see how similar the style is, even though it is in two different planes and two different materials.
Demonstration: Okay, so now that you have had a little art background lets go over the clay material. So we will be making long clay snakes. So once you have a long snake or several shorter snakes you can begin your pot. We are going to be using these plastic containers as a mold. You first have to roll out a slab for your base. When you have a clay slab, you can trace the bottom of your mold with a clay tool and cut it out. Fit it down on the bottom of your mold and you can begin layering your snakes together, making sure you score and slip the bottom to the top. Once your snakes have wrapped around the mold to the top you can begin smoothing out the inside with a flat clay tool. What else could you use to do this? Right, you could use your hands as well. You will also be allowed to add shapes and designs into your pot, or cut out shapes to create a lantern.
Next class when your clay pot is dried and is less flexible and pliable you will be able to carefully flip over your mold and lift it up to reveal coils on the outside. This is the part that reminded of Van Gogh’s work with his choppy lines and strokes.
Visual Aids: Van Gogh’s: The Starry Night, Sunflowers, The Olive Leaves, and Landscape with Wall. Also shown are pictures of clay pot as exemplars.
Reference to art history: Van Gogh and the Impressionist era in the 1880’s.
Exemplars: Former student work and teacher’s example.
Activity:
What will the students do?
Week 1: Begin by tracing bottom of mold to form the base of their pot. They will make clay snakes (clay ropes) and begin layering them onto the base.
Week 2: They will continue layering clay snakes until they are finished and will then blend the inside
Week 3: If they finished blending the inside of their pots they will be able to take their pot out of the mold and maybe cut out shapes to make holes (like a lantern) or even add lines or designs.
Supplies: Clay, clay tools (flat end and pointy end), sponges, plastic container used for a mold, slip/ container, glazes, and paintbrushes for glaze.
Vocabulary: Vincent Van Gogh, Impressionists, blending, coil pots, comparison.
Closure: So who can tell me what artist we learned about today? Right we were talking about Vincent Van Gogh. Why did I think his work looked like our clay pots? Good, yes he worked with choppy brush strokes and think black lines. So who can remind me what we will be doing next class? Good, you will be finishing up your coils and blending the inside of your pots, and then we will wait for them to dry and then I will be able to give a glaze demo. So be thinking about whether or not you want to draw on the outside of your pot, or cut any thing out. See you next class!
PA Academic Standards For The Arts And Humanities: PA Academic Standards For The Arts And Humanities: 9.2.5.C- Relate works in the arts to varying styles and genre and to the periods in which they were created. 9.3.5.B-Describe works in the arts comparing similar and contrasting characteristics. 9.4.5.C-Identify the attributes of various audiences’ environments as they influence individual aesthetic response.
Assessment Strategy: What assessment strategy tool will I use to evaluate the learning outcomes? I will use a rubric that will ask whether or not they understand the comparison of the 2-D and 3-D materials and the artist Van Gogh and the Impressionists. It will also ask if they have completely smoothed out the inside of their pot and correctly layered their coil snakes. It will also test whether or not they effectively used glaze colors and blending techniques.
Correlated Activity? (What art activity will follow) Students will begin a drawing lesson using pastels in an impressionist style, first drawing and then outlining in sharpie before they continue. This will test their understanding of color blending and materials.
Interdisciplinary Domains: (for example) Art History: Making students aware of artists from other countries and time periods, as well as different art movements.
Reflections: I feel this lesson is successful, because it gives students a chance to use their hands to release frustrations. I think students of all grades and levels should be able to understand and complete this lesson successfully. I would incorporate more information about the time period when presenting this lesson to 7th or 8th graders. I may also have them create textures on some of their pots.
Title: Slinky Van Gogh Bowls
Grade: 6-7th
PA Academic Standards For The Arts And Humanities: 9.2.5.C- Relate works in the arts to varying styles and genre and to the periods in which they were created. 9.3.5.B-Describe works in the arts comparing similar and contrasting characteristics. 9.4.5.C-Identify the attributes of various audiences’ environments as they influence individual aesthetic response.
Objectives:
Knowledge: Students learn about the artist Van Gogh and about impressionism in the 1880’s. They will also learn about coil pots and clay manipulation.
Skill: Students learn how to use clay coils to create a bowl/ pot. They will also learn how to join pieces together as well as blending and smoothing. This project will help the students become more familiar with the material as well as fine-tuning their fine motor skills.
Attitude: Students learn to be aware of different forms of art and how they relate. They will also become more aware of art from different era’s as well as other countries. They will also become more aware of color blending with glazes.
Prepare ahead: Gather visuals, former student examples, information Van Gogh and the Impressionist Era, slides on coil pots, and supplies.
Prior knowledge: Students have knowledge of the elements of art, and have had some experience with clay and how to join it together. They also have some knowledge of glazes.
Motivation:
Questions leading the students to discovery:
Good morning class. Raise your hand if you have seen this work of art before. Good that’s great! Can anyone tell me what it is called or who its by? Right, it is Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh. Does anyone know what time/ movement Van Gogh painted in? Well let me give you a description of how he painted and then maybe you will remember. Van Gogh adopted the ways of some new artists and began using brighter, high-keyed colors on his palette. During this period of time the artists began going outside and painting quicker little snap shots (impressions) as opposed to sitting inside their dark studios for hours. This allowed their painting to become lighter and because of their real time/ real life subjects they were able to portray movement. So now can anyone tell me what art movement this was called? Did you remember? Right it is called the Impressionist period, because they painted more of an impression as apposed to a still life or portrait. So lets look at more of Van Gogh’s work and see how loose and choppy his style got. He used short strokes that really give the viewer an impression of movement and texture. So, how does this relate to the clay pots that we are going to start? Well, I was flipping through this art book and I saw Van Gogh’s ink painting and immediately thought of coil pots. So I wanted you to see how 2-D and 3-D art can be similar and have common characteristics. Okay, so really quick here are a few picture of coil pots next to some of Van Gogh’s work so you can see how similar the style is, even though it is in two different planes and two different materials.
Demonstration: Okay, so now that you have had a little art background lets go over the clay material. So we will be making long clay snakes. So once you have a long snake or several shorter snakes you can begin your pot. We are going to be using these plastic containers as a mold. You first have to roll out a slab for your base. When you have a clay slab, you can trace the bottom of your mold with a clay tool and cut it out. Fit it down on the bottom of your mold and you can begin layering your snakes together, making sure you score and slip the bottom to the top. Once your snakes have wrapped around the mold to the top you can begin smoothing out the inside with a flat clay tool. What else could you use to do this? Right, you could use your hands as well. You will also be allowed to add shapes and designs into your pot, or cut out shapes to create a lantern.
Next class when your clay pot is dried and is less flexible and pliable you will be able to carefully flip over your mold and lift it up to reveal coils on the outside. This is the part that reminded of Van Gogh’s work with his choppy lines and strokes.
Visual Aids: Van Gogh’s: The Starry Night, Sunflowers, The Olive Leaves, and Landscape with Wall. Also shown are pictures of clay pot as exemplars.
Reference to art history: Van Gogh and the Impressionist era in the 1880’s.
Exemplars: Former student work and teacher’s example.
Activity:
What will the students do?
Week 1: Begin by tracing bottom of mold to form the base of their pot. They will make clay snakes (clay ropes) and begin layering them onto the base.
Week 2: They will continue layering clay snakes until they are finished and will then blend the inside
Week 3: If they finished blending the inside of their pots they will be able to take their pot out of the mold and maybe cut out shapes to make holes (like a lantern) or even add lines or designs.
Supplies: Clay, clay tools (flat end and pointy end), sponges, plastic container used for a mold, slip/ container, glazes, and paintbrushes for glaze.
Vocabulary: Vincent Van Gogh, Impressionists, blending, coil pots, comparison.
Closure: So who can tell me what artist we learned about today? Right we were talking about Vincent Van Gogh. Why did I think his work looked like our clay pots? Good, yes he worked with choppy brush strokes and think black lines. So who can remind me what we will be doing next class? Good, you will be finishing up your coils and blending the inside of your pots, and then we will wait for them to dry and then I will be able to give a glaze demo. So be thinking about whether or not you want to draw on the outside of your pot, or cut any thing out. See you next class!
PA Academic Standards For The Arts And Humanities: PA Academic Standards For The Arts And Humanities: 9.2.5.C- Relate works in the arts to varying styles and genre and to the periods in which they were created. 9.3.5.B-Describe works in the arts comparing similar and contrasting characteristics. 9.4.5.C-Identify the attributes of various audiences’ environments as they influence individual aesthetic response.
Assessment Strategy: What assessment strategy tool will I use to evaluate the learning outcomes? I will use a rubric that will ask whether or not they understand the comparison of the 2-D and 3-D materials and the artist Van Gogh and the Impressionists. It will also ask if they have completely smoothed out the inside of their pot and correctly layered their coil snakes. It will also test whether or not they effectively used glaze colors and blending techniques.
Correlated Activity? (What art activity will follow) Students will begin a drawing lesson using pastels in an impressionist style, first drawing and then outlining in sharpie before they continue. This will test their understanding of color blending and materials.
Interdisciplinary Domains: (for example) Art History: Making students aware of artists from other countries and time periods, as well as different art movements.
Reflections: I feel this lesson is successful, because it gives students a chance to use their hands to release frustrations. I think students of all grades and levels should be able to understand and complete this lesson successfully. I would incorporate more information about the time period when presenting this lesson to 7th or 8th graders. I may also have them create textures on some of their pots.