The EmPowerment of Yet

This might not look like much. Lumps of clay – things that aren’t quite there….yet. But this was the start of our 3D Unit. Students dove headfirst into clay. All of my Foundations of Art students (close to 130) made at least 2 things – one handbuilt and one on the wheel.

We started this unit with a pinchpot challenge – students used this rubric to assess their work. They had one day to create “the perfect pinchpot” and there would be “winners”. Students found initially that their excitement quickly turned to annoyance that the clay wouldn’t move the way they intended or their clay quickly dried out or go crumbly. Other students found success immediately.

The following day we talked about attachments and coils. Students were given the goal of the assignment – create a piece that has intentional texture, at least 6 inches high or wide and successful attachments. Students used their pinch pots (whatever they looked like) as a base to begin this process. Students were a huge range of emotions this first day – the frustration some felt the day before continued; some started to find success in the building and attaching; while other continued on their path of success. Students were quickly assessing their own successes through a variety of methods – using the measurement tools (tape on the board) to see if their size was correct and using large exit slip checkins on how they met their goals for the day.

Students were so excited about prospect of reaching their goals that in one class period students decided that the hashtag alreadywon was what each image would be labelled with during this unit – because in their eyes they had already won!

I’m incredibly lucky that I also have 4 wheels in my room. Last year I had workshops afterschool for kids to try out the wheels – but I really wanted each kid to try it out. So I decided to do something somewhat tricky – have the majority of kids doing something pretty new while 4 kids would get specialized instruction on something none of them have any experience with. This was nervewracking in my head the first day – but I created a schedule and the kids had about 10-12 minutes on the wheel. Which, of course, is not even close to enough time, but it’s a perfect enough time to get them excited about success.

And all 130 kids tried out the wheel! Some of them loved it, some of them hated it. But most felt like they could get better at it with practice. They were talking about how easy it looks in movies (like Ghost) and on instagram – but they didn’t think they were failures because their pieces weren’t perfect. They couldn’t wait to get back on the wheel.

And then something magical happened – students were no just helping each other out with tips and tricks – but were actually teaching each other.

I have an open door policy so many kids come in and out throughout the day, even when they don’t have my class. Lunch is a busy time where many kids come eat lunch and create during their own lunch time. One particular student was so excited about the wheel and learning about it – that she completely immersed herself in my instruction. She watched me demo and explain it for 2 periods for 2 days. Then, I pushed her. I asked her to teach a group – one because I was pretty tired of saying the exact same things and also because my hands were taking a beating from all the clay.

And she taught groups. And she taught them well. She spoke to them in a way that only teenagers can talk to each other. She was firm, she was clear, she was kind. She showed the things to do for success. She quite literally modeled the expectations perfectly and her students had some of the more successful experiments on the wheel.

At the end of the week, one student came by at the end of the day to say how proud she was of herself. She was so frustrated at first because the clay was all crumbly and gross – but she didn’t give up and practiced and worked and created something beautiful. (I wish I had taken a picture of her piece before I put it in the kiln.)

As we continue into more 3D work, I am so excited to see where my students mindsets are able to take them!

Sneak peek of the next blog post….transforming 2D to 3D through exploration, Paper Sculpture and teaching through video tutorials!

Sorry this is sideways but it’s too funny!