40 PUMPKINS of all shapes and sizes grin at us with magical emotions. Their colors are vibrant and their personalities extraordinary. These quirky ceramic pumpkins hand crafted by middle school artists bring joy to their makers and a smile to their viewers.
The sixth and seventh grade art classes learned how to build pumpkins and Jack-O-Lanterns with the double pinch pot method for their Ceramics unit. This lesson was inspired by a fellow art teacher, Daisy Maestas, who shared her process online and is also one of my best friends from my days at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. A big Shout Out goes to Daisy and Asa from The King and the Flower Pottery!
Most students come to middle school with prior experience making pinch pots, but when attached together, pinch pots can be constructed into more complex forms. When I teach a Ceramics unit, students learn all the fundamentals including the stages of clay and where it comes from, how to reclaim clay, and the essential handbuilding techniques needed to create their artwork. We began with the recycling process by hammering scrap pieces of dried clay into a powder and wedging the freshly reclaimed clay to use for the project.
Next, we reviewed how to make a pinch pot and each student created two pots with even walls that were about the same size to slip and score together.
Students learned how to press into their double pinch pot sphere to work in the three-dimensional grooves of their pumpkin with their fingers. A little tender loving care (TLC) went into this phase of construction where I was very hands-on with each student to help them achieve successful a pumpkin base to work off from.
Then the creativity really took off when students referred back to their original sketches to carve their add clay for details and carve out sections of their pumpkins!
The pumpkins were ready to fire with great craftsmanship and creativity.
My students were over the moon with excitement for their pumpkins to be fired. Unfortunately, things don't always work out the way we expect them to and there are failures in Ceramics due to nature of the process. During the bisque firing, some of the pumpkins didn't have large enough holes carved into the bottom for the air to escape properly. The pressure inside caused these pumpkins to explode and ricochet off of the other pumpkins around them. Out of 40 pumpkins, we had 11 that did not make it through.
I was devastated to see these pumpkins in pieces but there was no way to correct the mistake after it had been fired. There are a lot of character building opportunities in Ceramics. It's okay when these things happen because we can learn from them, be flexible, and adapt to the situation growing not only as artists and but also as better people with a little sense of humor. (Life happens!)
To give all of my students the learning opportunity of painting their pumpkins for display, I picked up a bag of mini pumpkins from the grocery story for the students who lost their projects. I dreaded breaking the news to my students but what resulted was something that I never expected to happen...
As I began to explain the pumpkin explosion and the reasons why it had happened, there were worried looks in my 6th graders' eyes and hands bobbing up and down asking which pumpkins had exploded. I called students one at a time to pick up the pumpkins that had survived and when I called the first name, the rest of the class cheered! I mean, they were clapping, hooting, and jumping up and down for the person who was retrieving their work. The next student was called and the same thing happened! It's like we were having a ceremony for artists accepting awards.
When all the ceramic pumpkins had been handed out, I asked that we remember the pumpkins that were created but now rest in peace and give encouragement to the artists who gave their personal best effort on this project. When each student was called forward, their peers lifted them up with cheers as they chose a mini-pumpkin to paint and take home! I thanked my students for their fantastic attitude and genuine support of their classmates. That's a true class culture of community.
I decided to have students decorate their pumpkins with tempera paint instead of glazing them so that they could be expressive with their colors and take them home in time for Halloween. I demonstrated basic color theory and best painting practices on my sample pumpkin but gave students full autonomy of their decision making in the decorations. I also introduced the students to the artist Yayoi Kusama who is known for her dot paintings, infinity rooms, and as well as her giant pumpkin sculptures.
Some of my students worked in collaboration with each other by painting each other's pumpkins and sharing suggestions of what colors to use. These two students traded their pumpkins back and forth occasionally while consulting each other on important decisions so that their pumpkin painting could improve together. They each had a hand on painting their own and their partner's pumpkin throughout the process. Artists often work together with feedback and art-making. It was impressive to see this happen organically during studio work time.
These last few days of the project were a blast. It was also a great exercise on developing patience and craftsmanship skills. Painting is the most important part of the artwork because it is not only the final step, but also and what the viewer will see first. People have no idea all of the steps that went into building the pumpkin but will immediately see the quality of the sculpture's painting.
Proud art teacher here showing off their final artwork! I saved a few for display in the art gallery but so many students wanted to take their projects home as soon as they finished that I photographed the rest to share with their community.
Happy students coming out the other end of a successful 3D project. My final note to leave with you is an email I received from one of my students. Her ceramic pumpkin had a hat to match her Jack-O-Lantern that was lost in the kiln. She created her own hat out of air-dry clay at home and painted it to match her ceramic piece. This is what she sent me to share her final artwork. Great problem solving and work ethic that is truly exploding with creativity!
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