The classroom offers a unique and effective venue for community engagement and an opportunity for teaching artists to dive into a topic on both practical and theoretical levels, resulting in well-informed input. That well-informed input is then translated into thoughtful action. It is exciting to engage students early on in shaping their community…

Three independently developed educational leadership courses used the arts to depart from lecture and passive learning, prime students to solve school problems creatively, and build social justice awareness. Photo captioning was used to promote intrapersonal leadership development around professional identity formation and social justice awareness…

This article examines the benefits that can be realized when a study contrives a poly vocal environment that allows the participants a larger stake in the conduct of research among them. The article, therefore, does not dwell on the main findings of the study conducted among "Bang' Jomariek" women group of West Reru. The main objective…

Three years ago, the author and Linda Arbuckle (University of Florida ceramic professor and internationally known majolica clay artist) were on the phone discussing how electric kilns just don't have any artistic design flair to them. The round kiln has basic properties that allow it to function properly, but its looks are far from exciting. They…

Around Scout Island Education Center, a site used by schools in Fresno County to explore the area's natural environment, a total of 200 cylinder-shaped concrete stools display tiles representing small mammals, flying insects, birds, wildflowers, and more. Twenty sets have been created by elementary, middle, and high-school art students as part of…

This article presents an examination of the effects of using an inquiry-based learning pedagogy to teach ceramics to pre-service teachers (my students) at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. At the beginning of the study the students were asked to conduct experiments on the properties of clay. The results indicate that half of them were able to…

Tales of love and hate, of athleticism, heroism, devotion to gods and goddesses that influenced myth and culture are a way of sharing ancient Greece's rich history. In this article, the author describes how her students created their own Greek-inspired clay vessels as artifacts of their study. (Contains 6 online resources.)

Every year, the Parent-Teacher Organization of Hiller Elementary School gives every teacher a fifty dollar bill to help offset classroom expenses. This year the author, a second grade teacher, knew exactly how he would spend the money. He bought thirty-eight perfect, clear, two-quart plastic, lidded containers for each of his students and three…

It was time for yet another challenge. Bright colored glazes were on hiatus; earth tones and mixed media took center stage. Inspiration was provided this time by the myriad Native American potters from the desert Southwest. The project: create a coil pot that demonstrates interesting form and good artistry and reflects, through symbolism or mixed…

Traveling to other countries to see other cultures rejuvenates one's spirit and broadens one's perspective. In this article, the author, who is an elementary art teacher shares his experiences on his visit to South Korea in the spring of 2005. The purpose of the tour was to visit potters who fire their work in traditional wood fired, hill-climbing…

Presents four ceramics activities for secondary-level art classes. Included are directions for primitive kiln construction and glaze making. Two ceramics design activities are described in which students make bizarrely-shaped lidded jars, feet, and footwear. (AM)

Describes eight art activities using ceramics. Elementary students created ceramic tiles to depict ancient Egyptian and medieval European art, made ceramic cookie stamps, traced bisque plates on sketch paper, constructed clay room-tableaus, and designed clay relief masks. Secondary students pit-fired ceramic pots and designed ceramic Victorian…

Contemporary ceramic artist William Daly's stoneware work entitled "Shang Play" is discussed. Art activities to help elementary and secondary students learn about ceramic art are suggested. (RM)

Clay sculpture is difficult to produce because of the requirements of kiln firing. The problems can be overcome by modeling the original manikin head and making a plaster mold, pressing molding slabs of clay into the plaster mold to form the hollow clay armature, and sculpting on the armature. (IS)

Junior high school students studied the cultural uses, symbolic meanings, and general physical forms of tombs and tombstones and then used basic slab building techniques to construct large clay grave markers. (RM)