Lesson video

Hello, my name's Mrs. Alton.

I'm really happy that you can be here today to share my lesson on the humble pot, and this is from the unit all about craft.

So let's get started.

I hope that by the end of today's lesson you can investigate pottery and experiment with different shapes and texture to create a pinch pot.

Let's look at some key words for today's lesson.

Pottery are objects made from clay that are shaped and then baked until hard.

Form is the shape of 3D structure of an object.

This has height, width, and depth.

Function is the practical use or purpose of an object.

Today's lesson is broken down into three learning cycles.

The first is exploring platforms in clay.

The second is playing with texture and pattern.

The third is creating a pinch pot.

Let's start with learning cycle one.

Can you think of any examples of pottery? You might have some interesting examples at home.

Pottery has been around for thousands of years and is a job within the creative industries.

It primarily refers to objects made from clay like pots, bowls, and vases.

Pottery and ceramics can be quite confusing as different definitions.

Ceramics is a bigger category that includes pottery, but also includes things like tiles, bricks, and glass.

Do you know any local potters? You may have even done some pottery yourself or painted pottery at a special studio.

Let's take a look at the pottery making process.

This includes preparing the clay, which we're going to look at today, forming the clay, which we'll be doing as part of the pinch pot process drying, which can take a couple of days to even a week depending on the size of the pot that you are making.

Firing this picture is an example of a really traditional kiln.

Today they're mostly electrical and kilns get really, really hot, much hotter than your oven at home.

They can reach 1200 degrees, which is about the same as a volcano, so you can imagine how hot it has to get to, and a kiln turns the pottery hard, so it's a really important process.

Glazing is optional, and this turns your pottery to have a really lovely shiny surface, and glazes can come in lots of different colours.

Glaze makes the pottery waterproof so it can hold things like liquids and food.

And then stage six is the second firing, and this is if you've put a glaze onto your clay.

So again, another important stage depending on how far you take your pottery process.

Let's have a quick check for understanding.

Can you remember what stage two is in the pottery making process? Have a think.

Well done if you remembered, it's forming.

One of the key elements that we're looking at today.

Nampeyo was a renowned Native American Hopi artist who created smooth rounded pottery, perfect for holding grains or liquids.

Hopi pottery was typically round or bulbous forms with a wide curved body and a narrow neck.

The word bulbous refers to something that's bulb like so if you think of a plant bulb or something like that.

So we are thinking of these big bulbous pottery shapes.

Its design allows it to function, and remember that's one of our key words today.

For practical uses like holding grains or liquid as well as for decoration or ceremony.

Hopi pottery was typically symmetrical, round or bulbous forms with wide curved body and a narrow neck.

Is this true or false? Well done if you said true.

These forms made them ideal for functions like holding grains or liquid, while also serving for decorative and ceremonial purposes.

Magdalene Odundo is an artist that uses pottery to celebrate the human body.

She designed a pot to look like the soft curves and form of a pregnant woman.

Looking at this pot, you wouldn't instantly maybe make that association because the forms are quite abstract, but it's these types of flowing forms that really inspire her work.

Her pots also are often red and black and involve a multiple firing process.

She also uses a really ancient technique of coiling, so everything is handmade.

Chris Bramble is an artist that blends traditional pottery techniques with contemporary designs to create literal representations of the body.

That means they actually look like people.

Magdalene Odundo and Chris Bramble's pottery often celebrate A, architecture, B, wildlife, or C, the human body.

Have a think.

Well done if you said the human body.

Let's have a look at this pottery.

Pottery forms are often described using terms related to the human body.

Let's look at these labels.

We've got the lip or the rim of a pot, and that's at the top, as you can imagine if you looked at the human figure.

Then we have the mouth, the neck, the arms, which will be easy to remember, the body and the foot right at the bottom.

Quick check for understanding.

Which of the following is not used to describe pottery forms? Is it A, the lip, B, the eye C, the foot, or D, the neck? Well done if you said B, the eye, that is not a pottery term.

Well done.

Kate Malone is a British artist who creates colourful pottery inspired by fruits and plants.

Her larger than life designs often feature natural forms such as pumpkins to celebrate how nature grows and changes.

Her work is often considered a mix of sculpture and function because they can be used for different purposes.

What natural forms could inspire organic shapes in your pot? Natural forms like fruit, vegetables, shells, and seed pods.

Think about what you might see on a walk or any natural forms that you might have at home.

Here are some examples.

Now over to you for our first task, explore organic pot forms inspired by natural forms, and it's a really good idea here to have lots of resources in front of you.

So that could mean examples of potter's work or natural forms or pictures of natural forms. The greater variety of inspiration, the more ideas you'll have.

You're going to set a timer for two minutes and use your clay to quickly create a platform.

Think of it like drawing with clay, and the idea here is that we're not gonna be precious about the clay.

Clay is made for remoulding.

It will do whatever you ask of it, so don't be frightened to squish it down and remake a shape.

This is all about experimenting with those pot forms. Take risks, enjoy the process, and I really look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Pause the video here while you work on task A.

Let's have a look at what your work may have looked like.

This one's inspired by the stalk of a natural form, so instead of having a handle or lid, it's almost got a little hook that you can pick it up with.

This one's got arms inspired by the human body, and this one is a bit like a seed pod.

Let's reflect on your organic pot forms. What shape did you like best and why? How did it feel to reshape the clay? So when you'd made your pot, did you feel like you wanted to keep it or were you quite happy to re-squish it and have another go? How did you show the inspiration of natural forms in your pot shapes? And maybe you could refer to the resources that you had in front of you.

Maybe used a combination of ideas from different ones, or maybe it was really inspired by one type of style or theme.

Last question and a really important one.

What would you change if you created the clay form again? And remember, we were using clay like we would a drawing, so it was really good to reflect on how it went and what would you change if you did it again? Let's take a look at what you may have said.

Andeep says, "I like the shape where I created a long neck with a frill top inspired by a seed head." Laura says, "My clay got quite dry, so I added some water." Maybe you found that out too.

I liked how it felt we didn't have to be precious about the shapes we designed, art's all about taking risks, and that's what we're gonna be working on throughout the lesson.

Let's take a look at the second learning cycle, playing with texture and pattern.

Veronica Ryan, a British artist, a Caribbean heritage, created a Turner prize winning artwork titled "Along A Spectrum" in 2021.

This was created to celebrate the wind rush generation.

The Windrush generation includes people from the Caribbean who come to the UK between 1948 and the 1970s to help rebuild the country after World War ii.

The sculpture is inspired by Caribbean fruits like the soursop, breadfruit and custard apple.

She use these shapes to explore ideas about identity and belonging.

The sculpture is quite big so the public can touch and interact with the artwork.

The fruit symbolise the Caribbean's rich and diverse environment, as well as the experiences of those who were displaced or moved to different parts of the world.

How does Veronica Ryan create sculptures to tell personal and cultural stories? Is it A using geometric forms inspired by our hobbies? B, by using organic forms inspired by her Caribbean heritage, or C, by using angular forms inspired by city life.

Well done if you said B, by using organic forms inspired by her Caribbean heritage.

What words would you use to describe the textures of these fruits? You may have said things like bumpy, spiky, dotted, grooved, or even smooth.

What tools or objects could you use to make textures in the clay? This could be anything that you could press into the clay to create an indentation, to have a think.

Sam says, "I could make my own tool by winding string around a twig and rolling it into the clay." And this relates back to our previous learning on how artists and designers sometimes create their own tools for particular purposes.

There's lots of different ways that you can create indentations in clay.

If you hold a tool on its side or upright, it's going to create a different mark.

So Sam's idea of rolling it would create a really interesting one.

Aisha says, "A toothbrush would be a great way to make indents in the clay." So think about all those little individual spikes and maybe what type of texture that would create.

Lucas says, "What about using kitchen utensils like a knife and fork?" Again, these can be used in so many different ways.

They're gonna make lots and lots of different marks.

You can pretty much experiment with most things as long as you can wash the clay off afterwards.

Which of these are pottery tools for shaping or creating texture? Well done if you said A and C.

A are traditional pottery tools, B are pottery glazes and C are other objects that can be used to create texture in the clay.

Pottery tools can be anything used to shape, mould, smooth or decorate the clay.

Now over to you, for our second task.

Look at clay techniques by artists like Veronica Ryan and natural form textures for inspiration.

First of all, you're going to roll out a clay slab to create a texture palette.

This is gonna be for when you refer back to how to create textures.

So really, really experiment on this piece of work.

It's not a final outcome, but it should provide a really good way of experimenting with texture.

Experiment for five minutes with different tools to make imprints and patterns on the clay.

So like we've just discussed, you can use a multitude of objects to create different textures.

When you do put these different textures onto your clay, use water.

If you think of water as the glue of clay, it really helps to stick the clay together.

When the clay goes in the kiln, you can imagine if it hasn't got the water, it'll come apart.

You can also think about putting some grooves into anything you stick onto the clay as this will really help it bond together.

Think about how these textures could decorate your own pots as you work.

So remember, you're thinking about interesting layers and surfaces and textures and how you might create an interesting pattern with the tools that you have.

I can't wait to see what you design.

Pause the video here where you work on task B.

Let's look at what your work may have looked like.

And in this example, you can see there's lots of tools that have been used and lots of different levels of clay as well.

Also, when you have shapes in clay, you can still put indentations in and that creates a really interesting surface, especially once the clay has been fired.

And also with glazes texture can really bring out a really nice visual interest into the work.

Keep this work and we'll refer to it later.

Let's reflect on your clay texture palette.

Which pattern did you like best and why? Maybe you had a particular tool that worked really, really well.

How do different textures change the look and the feel of the clay? Which tools were your favourites for creating mark making? And again, thinking of reflection, how would you improve your clay texture palette? Maybe you've seen somebody else's that's given you an idea or something that you would like to try.

You may have said, "Pressing tools into the clay from different angles was fun.

I created dotted textures with imprints of various circular shapes." Laura says, "I like making my own tools, adding texture makes people want to touch it." Let's look at our third and last learning cycle, creating a pinch pot.

A pinch pot is one of the most simple pots to create.

Why is it called a pinch pot? It's quite simply made by pinching your fingers.

You what you have to do is to press your thumb into the ball of clay and gently pinch the sides to form the shape of the pot like in this example, pinch pots are believed to be the first method ever used to create pottery.

So a really ancient technique.

What's the function of a pinch pot? And remember, function is one of our key words.

So we're thinking about purpose.

Pinch pots can be used as small bowls or liquid containers if they are sealed and fired to prevent leaks.

They can be made into artistic shapes or textured to create decorative designs.

They can be used in ceremonies or rituals.

A quick true or false.

Pinch pots are only used for holding solid objects such as seeds or grains.

True or false? Well done if you said false.

Pinch pots can be used for holding food or liquids, but they do have to be sealed and fired properly first.

What are the forms of a pinch pot? Pinch pots are usually simple and round with a gentle curve.

And if you think they're made by hand in your palm, that's the type of shape that's gonna be created.

Each pot is unique, which is the beauty of handcrafts.

They have organic irregular shapes that show the potter's touch.

Designs can include handles pinch in the edges or adding texture like we've experimented with today.

A true or false question, pinch pots are always made with smooth even surfaces.

Is that true or is that false? Well done if you said false.

Pinch pots can have texture or irregularities based on how the potter shapes the clay.

Our last task over to you.

So we're gonna shape a pinch pot.

You're gonna start by rolling a ball of clay, and this can be done in between the palms of your hands or on the table, but you want it about the size of a golf ball.

You're gonna press your thumb into the centre and pinch the sides to create the pot.

And while you are doing this, it can be really helpful to turn the pot around, and this way you're gonna get an even thickness on the sides of your wall.

Also, when you press your thumb into the clay, you want to have about a centimetre for the base.

So you are gonna need to judge this because you won't be able to see it.

If you do go too far with your thumb or if the sides don't come out as you want, like we tried in the first activity, you can squish the ball back down, roll it again, and then start again.

Sometimes things do take a couple of practise goes.

You can also, once you've moulded your pot, turn it upside down and tap it gently on the table, and this will create a nice rim to your pot.

Next, we're gonna decorate your pot with textures.

So you need to refer back to the texture palette we did during task two.

I'm sure you've got loads of great ideas on here that you could use for the pattern on your pot.

Just remember, if you're sticking bits on, you need to use water, or you could use slip, which is water mixed with a piece of clay to make a paste.

Sometimes you could also add a little bit of texture to the surface of the clay when you stick pieces on, and this creates a better bond, so things won't come off in the firing process.

Let's take a look at what your work may have looked like.

I've used the pinch pot process to create this apple form.

I wonder what organic forms you use to inspire your pinch pot.

I also used my texture palette to inspire my texture and mark making.

Did you use natural and mermaid objects to create texture in your work? The techniques we've learned today can be applied to any clay project.

So I hope you've enjoyed learning some of them today.

Let's reflect on your creative choices.

How did you decide on the form and surface textures of your pot? What was the most challenging part of combining form and texture? Are there any elements of your work that you would like to change? Think back, how might you improve your work? Did you come across any challenges or maybe that you've resolved these now? Let's reflect on your creative choices.

Laura said, "My pot was inspired by the form of an apple.

I added textures using the end of a paintbrush and also built up bumps using coiling." So think about that's that rolling technique of clay.

"It was challenging not to squash the pot while adding the dots." Maybe you found that too.

Let's look at a summary for today's lesson.

Pottery comes in various forms, each with its own unique size and shape.

Pottery can be made in various ways by moulding the clay into its desired shape.

Pottery can function for practical purposes and also tell personal and cultural stories through its design.

Pottery can be smooth, decorative, or textural.

Thanks for learning with me today.

I look forward to seeing you soon.