Post about "Arts Education"

Ceramic Art Education Project – Unique Jack-O-Lanterns

When it comes to Halloween, nothing is a more traditional must have decoration than a jack-o-lantern. On Halloween night, those houses that are passing out tricks and treats are most likely going to have a brightly lit jack-o-lantern sitting on their front porch. If you are interested in having a jack-o-lantern that you don’t have to carve every year, consider making your own unique jack-o-lantern out of clay.Making a jack-o-lantern out of a lump of clay is going to take some time and skill. The first thing you will probably need to do is plop your wet clay onto one of your Brent pottery wheels and turn it on. While the clay is spinning, work your magic to turn that lump of shapeless clay into a big bowl. The beauty of making a clay jack-o-lantern is that it does not have to be perfect. Nobody has ever seen a perfect pumpkin, so yours doesn’t have to be the first. If your shape is a little lopsided, too tall or too short, it will make a perfect jack-o-lantern.Once you have your basic bowl shape it is time to start the pumpkin transformation. The easiest thing to do is to try to make a pumpkin and then carve out the face for the jack-o-lantern. Your best bet in transforming your bowl into a pumpkin will be to let the intuition from your ceramic art education takeover. You will probably want to let your clay air dry for a short while, until it is still easily manipulated, but won’t buckle under a slight touch. Work the sides of your bowl to make little indentations that run up and down to form the texture that the side of the pumpkin has.After you are finished with the sides it is time to add a stem on top. Have some fun with this to give your piece some personality. Add a little curve and length to the stem will add a dramatic look. Your next step is to carve out the face of the jack-o-lantern. You might want to draw several different ideas on paper before committing them to your hard work. Use a small knife to cut out whatever shapes you want. When you are finished cutting it is time to add some orange glaze and put your piece in a ceramic kiln. After firing, your unique jack-o-lantern will be something that you can proudly display each and every Halloween night!