Fish dishes.

Fish dishes. The inspiration for this clay project came from ceramic dishes thatI purchased on a family trip to Greece. I was captivated cap��ti��vate?tr.v. cap��ti��vat��ed, cap��ti��vat��ing, cap��ti��vates1. To attract and hold by charm, beauty, or excellence. See Synonyms at charm.2. Archaic To capture. by the variousshapes, styles and colors of Greek pottery Greek potteryPottery made in ancient Greece. Its painted decoration has become the primary source of information about the development of Greek pictorial art. It was made in a variety of sizes and shapes, according to its intended use; large vessels were used for storage . I found the fish-shapeddishes to be quite charming. It wasn't long before my mind kickedinto gear and an art project was born. To get my fourth-grade students fired up, I brought in a couple ofthese Greek fish dishes. I displayed the dishes in our art room, alongwith photographs of fish. We discussed the shapes and colors of the fishon display. Then each student received a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" pieceof scrap paper scrap papern → pedazos mpl de papelscrap papern → papier m brouillonscrap paperscrap n → and drew a very simple sketch of the fish shape. Thesesketches would later serve as their templates. Once approved, thestudents cut the sketch out and laid it aside for later use. It was then time to prepare the clay. Students were each given apiece of low-fire clay (cone 05-06). They worked with their clay until around, smooth ball was formed. They then put the clay on boards androlled out a slab with a rolling pin. It is important that each slab isapproximately 1/4-inch or more thick. If it is too thin, the dish maynot hold its shape too well. Once the clay had been rolled out to the desired thickness, thestudents laid their fish template on top of the slab. They then cutaround the fish template with plastic knives, carefully removing all theexcess clay. I instructed them to remove the template and smooth theoutside edges of the clay with their fingers. Before turning the fishover, each student made a small clay coil foot on the top of their fish,making sure the foot was well attached. Then they wrote their names onthe clay with a needle and carefully turned the dish over. I checked the middle of each dish to make sure that the foot wouldsit flat so that the dish would not wobble wobble/wob��ble/ (wob��'l) to move unsteadily or unsurely back and forth or from side to side. See under hypothesis. wob��blen.1. after firing. I told thestudents to carefully push up the sides of the fish to create a threedimensional dish shape. After pushing up the sides of the dish, theyplaced paper towel wads under the sides for support. A word of caution: It is important to allow the paper towels toremain under the sides until the dish has dried enough to supportitself. This should take only a couple of hours. I also made sure thatno paper towels were under the foot as this could cause the dish to situnevenly. My students removed all paper towels when the dishes dried. Ifthe surface seemed a bit bumpy bump��y?adj. bump��i��er, bump��i��est1. Covered with or full of bumps: a bumpy country road.2. Marked by bumps and jolts; rough: a bumpy flight. or uneven, they used a small wet spongeto carefully smooth the clay's surface. Before painting 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. on the dishes, we had a discussion aboutthe patterns and decorations of the pottery on display. We also talkedabout the use and care of underglazes. After the students had createddesigns to decorate their dishes, I gave them the "greenlight" to paint their fish with colorful underglazes. I encouragedthem to keep their designs fairly simple. (Older students should be ableto use more intricate and complicated designs.) I then did an underglaze un��der��glaze?n.Coloring or decoration applied to pottery before glazing. firing after the painting was finished. Following this initial firing,my students applied a clear glaze and I fired the dishes a final time. The students were very excited by the array of colors when they sawtheir finished dishes. It is easy to understand why they were very eagerto take their dishes home and show off their "Greek" pottery. It is not necessary to stick with traditional Greek fish-shapeddishes. Turtles, starfish, crabs, teddy bears, birds and cats are allpossibilities. Open your mind and you will find that the possibilitiesare endless. Note: This project can be easily incorporated into middle- orhigh-school classes. Marie Derby teaches art for the American International School ofBudapest in Budapest, Hungary.