Fifth graders are beginning our annual tradition of building clay Face Jugs. We started out with this great video from PBS, which shares the origins of face jugs in Africa, and how they ended up the the U.S. Thanks to ArtMuse67 for sharing this video - we loved it!
Next, we looked at examples of face jugs in Georgia, created by members of the Meaders family of potters in the North Georgia mountains. We also looked at modern potters and designers who continue to produce face jugs in a variety of styles, such as artist/designer Jonathan Adler. Both of these artists often stylize their jugs by exaggerating or minimizing the size of the facial features.
one of the Meaders family
Meaders Ugly Jug
Adler, throwing a pot on the wheel
Adler's stylized face pots
Students chose a style for their jugs - either "traditional ugly", animalistic, or realistic - and formed the jugs from two sealed pinch pots. Stay tuned for the finished glazed examples, coming in a couple of weeks - here's how they're shaping up so far -
fantastic! come see my clay videos!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to try these, thanks for the help, is is coil or slab based?
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