Studio Lessons

COIL POT

Scientific dating of artifacts like a Native American coil clay pot helps experts estimate the earliest time ancient people may have arrived on this continent. They also provide a window on the way of life during a certain time period.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

You will create a clay pot in the style of prehistoric Native Americans. You will give the work a sense of rhythm by increasing and then decreasing the size of coils. Your finished pot should be both useful and decorative.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

  • 2 pounds of clay, and slip
  • Canvas-covered clay board
  • Large plastic bag and bowl of water
  • Scrap piece of heavy cardboard

WHAT YOU WILL DO

  1. Review Technique Tip 16, Handbook. It will give you some general background information on working with clay.
  2. Gently throw your clay against the clay board. Doing this will remove any air pockets that might cause your work to explode when fired.
  3. Pinch off a lump of clay about the size of a lemon. With the heel of your hand, flatten the lump into a circle about ½ inch (13 mm) thick. Set it aside.
  4. Pinch off a second smaller lump, and roll it into a rope. The rope should be about ½ inch (13 mm) thick and 12 inches (30 cm) long. Form the rope into a ring, joining the two ends with slip. Seal the ring to the circle you made. This is to be the base of your pot.
  5. Create four more ropes. All should be the same thickness as the first rope. Each, however, should be slightly longer than the one before it. Form the shortest rope in a ring as you did earlier. Using slip, attach it to your base. Form the next longest rope into a ring. Attach it to the outer edges of the last coil. Continue to work in this fashion until your work is five coils high.
  6. Roll out five more ropes, this time making each slightly shorter than the one before it. Form the longest into a ring. Attach it to the inner edges of the last coil on your pot. Continue working in this manner until you have used all your ropes. (Hint: If it takes longer than one class period to finish your pot, store it in the plastic bag. This will keep it moist until you are ready to work with it again.)
  7. Allow your pot to dry to the greenware stage. Use the scrap of cardboard as a scraper to smooth out any bumps. Fire the pot in a kiln. Display your finished pot alongside those of classmates. Which pots succeed in showing a sense of rhythm?

Evaluating Your Work

Describe

Tell whether all the coils in your pot have the same thickness. Describe the form of your pot. Explain what you did to obtain this form.

Analyze

Tell which principles were used to organize the elements in your work. State whether your pot has a sense of rhythm. Explain how this sense of rhythm is realized.

Interpret

Point out in what ways your pot is similar to a prehistoric Native American coil pot.

Judge

Tell whether you have succeeded in creating a work that is both useful and decorative. Tell what changes you would make if you were going to redo your pot.

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