Coil Pots / 6th Grade
Overview

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    This lesson introduces students to the benefits of coil construction using clay. Students are shown how to roll out a coil, and hwo to slip, score, and weld. Students are shown how to make the pot wider or narrower depending on the placement of the next coil, and also how to go straight up. The use of coil construction in various ceramic goods is discussed, including an Udu (Clay drum), various tableware (bowls, cups, vases), and sculptures.


An Udu (Percussive Instrument)

Rationale

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    Coil construction is an essential clay building technique that effortlessly yields ceramicware with even, thin walls. Students at this age begin to relearn to use their bodies because their bodies are growing bigger than they were before. An activity such as rolling out a coil or scoring helps students test and fine tune their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and spacial cognition.

Objectives

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• Students will be able to roll out an even coil.
• Students will be able to score, slip, and weld.
• Students will be able to construct a vessel out of coils.
• Students will be able to smooth out the inside or outside of a coil vessel.
• Students will learn about glaze and glazing terms
  

Addressed New York State Educational Standards

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• Standard 1
  Students will make works of art that explore different kinds of subject matter, topics, themes, and metaphors. Students will understand and use sensory elements, organizational principles, and expressive images to communicate their own ideas in works of art. Students will use a variety of art materials, processes, mediums, and techniques, and use appropriate technologies for creating and exhibiting visual art works.
• Standard 2
  Know and use a variety of visual arts materials, techniques, and processes. Students will know about resources and opportunities for participation in visual arts in the community (exhibitions, libraries, museums, galleries) and use appropriate materials (art reproductions, slides, print materials, electronic media). Students will be aware of vocational options available in the visual arts.
• Standard 3
  Reflect on, interpret, and evaluate works of art, using the language of art criticism. Students will analyze the visual characteristics of the natural and built environment and explain the social, cultural, psychological, and environmental dimensions of the visual arts. Students will compare the ways in which a variety of ideas, themes, and concepts are expressed through the visual arts with the ways they are expressed in other disciplines.
• Standard 4
  Go to Visual Arts Standard Four Explore art and artifacts from various historical periods and world cultures to discover the roles that art plays in the lives of people of a given time and place and to understand how the time and place influence the visual characteristics of the art work. Students will explore art to understand the social, cultural, and environmental dimensions of human society.

Vocabulary

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• Cross-section -- an image that shows something as if it was cut through. The intersection of a plane through a three dimensional object.
• Side View / Profile View -- Looking at spomething from the side.
• Coil -- a clay "snake". A rope of clay
• Score, Slip, and Weld -- The process of adhering two pieces of clay by scratching the surfaces to be attached, applying slip or water, and then applying pressure to "weld" in place.
• Pin Tool --
• Thickness -- The distance between two surfaces.
• Leatherhard -- When the clay isn't soft enough to be shaped but can be carved.
• Greenware -- Clay that has not been fired at all.
• Bisqueware -- Clay that has been fired in the Kiln.
• Kiln -- The "oven" for the clay to harden it.
• To be fired -- To go through the process in the kiln of reaching cone 04 (1880 F) and returning to room temperature over a long period of time (overnight, in our case).
• To be bisque fired -- To make greenware into bisqueware. To make brittle, air dried clay into stone hard clay.
• To be glaze fired -- To have glaze (glass dust) melt together to coat the surface of the clay.
• Glazeware -- The "oven" for the clay to harden it.
• Glaze -- Crushed glass dust, mixed with water to form a slurry similar to the consistancy of yogurt.
• Glazing -- The process of applying glaze. "Painting" the cup. "I am glazing my pottery."
• Glaze Pooling -- When the glaze gets into a crack in the clay and is thicker there
• Glaze Breaking -- When the glaze pulls apart at a sharp edge of the clay and is very thin.
  

Evaluation

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Objectives	Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor	Incomplete
Rolling out a Coil	The coil is even in thickness throughout.	The coil is a little thin or a little thick in a few spots, but does not effect the structural integrity of the vessel	The coil is a little thin or a little thick in many spots, but does not effect the structural integrity of the vessel	The coil is very thin or very thick in a few spots and is hurting the structural integrity of the vessel	The coil is very thin or very thick in many spots and is hurting the structural integrity of the vessel
Smoothing	One side has been smoothed out, and there are no cracks along where the coils are.	One side has been smoothed out, but there are cracks along where the coils are.	Most of either the inside or outside of the coil vessel is smoothed out	Part of the inside or outside of the coil vessel is smoothed out	Neither the inside nor outside of the coil vessel is smoothed out
Evenness of walls	The walls are of even thickness throughout. The weight of the vessel is distributed evenly	The wall is thicker at one spot. There are a few cracks. The weight of the vessel is distributed evenly.	The wall is thick and thin randomly. There are some cracks. The weight of the vessel is distributed evenly	The wall is thick and thin randomly. There are many cracks. The weight of the vessel is distributed unevenly	The walls of the vessel are nonexistant, or cannot stand by itself. The weight of the vessel is distributed unevenly
Structural Integrity (Scoring)	The project stays together in one piece	The project has fallen apart at one or two places	The project has fallen apart at three or more places places	The project has fallen apart at three or more places places. It has trouble standing up	The project has fallen apart at five or more places places. It has no height
Glaze Application	The glaze has been applied thick and even throughout the cup	The glaze has been applied thick and even on most the cup. There are one or two unintended spots where the clay is bare	The glaze has been applied thickly on most the cup. There are a few unintended spots where the clay is bare	The glaze has been applied to the cup but it requires a second coat. There are several spots where the clay is bare	The glaze has been applied thin and sloppy. There are several spots where the clay is bare

Extension

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• Students can help out a friend or use their coil making skills and slip, score, and weld to add decoration to their coil pots. Students can also try different bases (what about a coil pot with a square base? A triangular base? A base shaped like the number eight?). Students can work as a group to create a large coil vessel, with the goal being to make it as tall as possible without having the coil tower collapse.

Student Examples

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