Face vessels: original African-American folk art.

Face vessels: original African-American folk art. There is nothing like clay to make a great hands-on learningexperience for the middle-school level. This particular lessonincorporates all the Standards for Learning in Art. It is one of myfavorite lessons during the 10 weeks each year when I teachseventh-grade art. ART HISTORY Between 1810 and 1865, an abundance of functionalpottery was produced in the remote Edgefield Potteries in South Carolina South Carolina,state of the SE United States. It is bordered by North Carolina (N), the Atlantic Ocean (SE), and Georgia (SW).Facts and FiguresArea, 31,055 sq mi (80,432 sq km). Pop. (2000) 4,012,012, a 15. and sold to neigh boring counties and states. Edgefield Potteries wasworked in part by artisan slaves who turned the pots, pushed the wheels,carried the pottery and loaded the kilns. In their free time, some ofthe artisans made pottery of their own choice. Many of them chose tomake jugs and pots now known as "face vessels." These wereoften stoneware stoneware,hard pottery made from siliceous paste, fired at high temperature to vitrify (make glassy) the body. Stoneware is heavier and more opaque than porcelain and differs from terra-cotta in being nonporous and nonabsorbent. jugs modeled in the shape of human faces. They were mostoften alkaline-glazed stoneware in simple, tones. Though there are many gaps in historical data regarding the making,use and meaning of the face-vessel pottery, there is no doubt that thevessels were original, functional artistic expressions of the Africanslave culture of the time. This all adds to the mystery of possibledeeper meaning of the face vessels in the slave culture. Few of the skilled potters who made face vessels have beenidentified by name and their inspiration for making face vessels isunknown. Researchers speculate that the vessels may have had religiousor burial significance, or that they reflect the complex responses ofpeople attempting to live and maintain their personal identities undercruel and often difficult conditions. Face vessels have been found along the routes of the UndergroundRailroad Underground Railroad,in U.S. history, loosely organized system for helping fugitive slaves escape to Canada or to areas of safety in free states. It was run by local groups of Northern abolitionists, both white and free blacks. and on gravesites, both indicating how highly they were valuedand how closely connected they were with the enslavedAfrican-American's own culture. Images of the original works provide great inspiration for thislesson. I do this lesson with my seventh grade, though it can be adaptedfor any age. To make the lesson even more exciting, I also show mystudents face vessels made by contemporary artisans in the spirit of theoriginal designs. These modern-day face vessels are often glazed glaze?n.1. A thin smooth shiny coating.2. A thin glassy coating of ice.3. a. A coating of colored, opaque, or transparent material applied to ceramics before firing.b. withbrightly colored underglazes and their faces are full of imaginativeexpression. This lesson takes approximately two weeks to complete in five40-minute sessions. Allow drying time between finishing thehand-building steps and the first firing. I use approximately one pound of clay per student when beginningthe process. I cover the work area with newspaper to facilitate cleanup.I prefer red clay, which makes a mess, but any color can be used for theproject. CREATING THE FACE VESSELS 1. Introduce students to the history of face vessels with a classdiscussion and visit to the Internet sites listed. 2. Have students sketch two to three designs of expressive facesand vessel shapes they might use. I like to give inspiration to mystudents to be as expressive as possible in their designs. I alsoencourage them to do monster faces, half-animal faces or any other sortof distorted or expressive face design they can come up with.Imagination is the key. When the sketches are complete have each studentchoose one to use for their project. 3. Begin working in clay. A quick review of the slab and coilmethods as well as general scoring and slipping techniques is helpfulhere. Because I do this with my seventh grade, and many of them havebeen my students for several years, I know they are familiar with bothprocesses, but still need time to review each before becoming completelycomfortable controlling the clay. I recommend they make their vesselsapproximately 5-10 inches high, but any size is possible. Width is up tothe student, however, I do request a shape that begins narrow, roundsand widens through the middle, then narrows again at the top. 4. Once the vessel is built, I have them attach a handle or two (orthree in some cases). The last thing I have them do is to sculpt sculpt?v. sculpt��ed, sculpt��ing, sculptsv.tr.1. To sculpture (an object).2. To shape, mold, or fashion especially with artistry or precision: theirfaces. This is done by adding and subtracting clay for a reallythree-dimensional face. 5. When hand building is done, clay is dried and bisque-fired. 6. Bisque-fired clay is painted in brightly colored glazes orunderglazes, which are then carefully coated in shiny overglaze o��ver��glaze?n.1. An outer coat of glaze on a piece of pottery.2. A painted or printed decoration applied over a glaze.tr.v. . Thevessels are fired a second and final time for a finished product. As soon as they come out of the kiln from the glaze glaze, in potteryglaze,translucent layer that coats pottery to give the surface a finish or afford a ground for decorative painting. Glazes—transparent, white, or colored—are fired on the clay. firing, theface vessels are displayed in my front entry showcase, along with ashort description of the work and the valuable history behind it. Boththe students and I feel pride in the accomplished work as well in theenlightenment we feel knowing the work and the history of the valuablecontributions African-Americans have made to American folk art folk art,the art works of a culturally homogeneous people produced by artists without formal training. The forms of such works are generally developed into a tradition that is either cut off from or tenuously connected to the contemporary cultural mainstream. with facevessels. One thing is for sure: if you make these with your students theworks will become real school treasures! MATERIALS * Access to the Internet for viewing face vessels from past andpresent artisans * Red clay, pin tools and wooden pottery tools Water for slip * Assorted soft paintbrushes paintbrushessee castilleja. for applying glaze * Pencils and white paper for sketching * Plastic bags for wrapping the work-in-progress between classes,to keep it soft and pliable until complete * Colored glazes, or underglazes and clear glaze LEARNING OBJECTIVES Students will ... * gain appreciation and knowledge of art history, specifically theAfrican-American contributions to folk art made in the South Carolinaregion. * use the Internet to research face vessels in African-Americanfolk art. * imagine, and then draw in pencil on paper, expressive headdesigns for their vessels. * form in clay, using the slab and coil methods, an expressive facevessel in the spirit of the Edgefield Potteries. * apply a color scheme in glaze to complete the project. * learn about glazing GlazingThe application of finely ground glass, or glass-forming materials, or a mixture of both, to a ceramic body and heating (firing) to a temperature where the material or materials melt, forming a coating of glass on the surface of the ware. and firing techniques. Robin Gianis teaches K-12 grade art at Bridgehampton School inBridgehampton, N.Y.