Discovering

the Treasures Found in Clay

Michael Padilla-Nazario
Discovering the Treasures Found in Clay
By Michael Padilla-Nazario
Table of Contents:
Page 1: Acknowledgments
Page 2: Introduction
Page 4: Seeing the Patterns
Page 6: Testing the Waters
Page 8: Pinch Pot Party!
Page 10: The Palmer Museum Tour!
Page 12: Glazing the Pots
Page 14: The Ceramics Studio
Page 16: The Final Results!
Acknowledgments

This book is dedicated to my professors and advisors,

Alison Coombs and Christopher Schulte, who supported me
in the creation of this book and allowed me to have these
wonderful experiences.
This book also is dedicated to my wonderful friends I made
over the semester in Hort Woods.

1
Introduction

On my first day entering the classroom, I was nervous as to how

I would be welcomed by the children. I was pleased to see that
they welcomed me with kindness and excitement at the prospect
of having a new friend. I quickly remembered their names and
faces and spent the next couple of days understanding what they
found interesting.

2
PA Early Learning Standards:

9.1.V PK.E:
Use imagination and creativity to
express self through visual arts.

3
Seeing the Patterns

"It's a Racetrack!"
-Zhongrui, replying to my question
about what he had built

4
As I played and interacted with the kids,
I began to take note of what they spent
most of their time on. Sometimes, I
would actively take part in their
activities and ask questions about what
they were doing in hopes of gleaming
important information. After some time,
I came to the conclusion that they
enjoyed constructing buildings and items
with their own hands. I kept this in
mind while constructing my long-term
project.

5
Testing the Waters
With some time to think, I began my long-term project with
the focus being on clay and the process of ceramics. I began
by gauging the children's interactions with a class project
they had. They were creating pumpkins out of magic clay
and some tools they had available and then painted them
afterwards. It turned out to be a success as the class
showed fierce creativity and investment in what they were
making!

6
 PA Early Learning Standards:

9.1.V PK.A:
Know and use basic elements of
visual arts.

7
Pinch Pot Party!

Afterwards, I brought in
some stoneware clay for
the kids to experiment
with. As this was a new
type of clay for many of
the children, I let them
get acquainted with it for
several sessions.

"It's so sticky!"
-Caiden, voicing his thoughts on how the
wet clay stuck to his hands

"It feels like mud!"

-Grey, giving her response to Caiden's
observation

8
 PA Learning Standards:

9.1.V PK.J:
Use a variety of technologies
for producing works of art.

I then introduced the concept of pinch pots to the group and

helped them create their own pots. Some made them really
tall and others made theirs more wide, creating a plate! They
then added some designs by using tools the teachers had
provided.

9
The Palmer Museum Tour!

With some experience of clay under their belts, I took the class to the
Palmer Museum of Art to see the clay works they have on display. While
there, the children learned of the many places where clay pots have be
made and how old some the pot actually turned out to be!

10
 "It looks like a beehive!"
-Capri, commenting on the
clay piece shown to the left

"Are those Native Americans?

I thought they were warriors!"
-Zhongrui, commenting on the
wooden sculpture

PA Learning Standards:
9.3 PK.G:
Formulate and share an opinion about others’ art products. 11
Glazing the Pots

The next time I came to class, I brought some

glazing materials so everyone could add some color
to their pinch pot.

12
With this step done, it was time
for the pots to be fired in a kiln!

13
The Ceramics Studio

While the children's pinch pots were in the process of being fired, I
took the entire class on a tour to the ceramics studio. While here,
the class was given a tour by Mr. Staley, one of the head professors
of the studio. He talked about where clay can be found and also
showed the children where they make the clay, the same clay the
class used to make their pinch pots!

14
He also gave a demonstration of how pots and plates are made using a
wheel!

PA Learning Standards:
9.4 PK.B:
Demonstrate an emotional response to viewing or creating various art
works.

15
 The Final Results!

With the tour over, all that was

left was to wait for the pinch pots
to finish cooling down. The
results were absolutely beautiful!

16
The pots were then returned to their respective owners to take
home and show their families!

17