For as long as pottery has existed, people have been using it to tell stories. Whether it has been on the side of a vessel, a carved relief on the side of a building, or a life-sized sculpture, storytelling is all around us. Students will learn the process of creating their own small figurative sculptures to tell stories through. In this workshop, students are encouraged to think about their own life stories, or use their imaginations to pull from. We will talk about different ways to create a small (~5 inch) stylized body (both human-like and animal-like), how to pose figures, and using texture and stamps to give our creatures life. Once we have made our creatures, we will create an environment for them to live in. Students will leave this workshop with the skills to create a small narrative sculpture.

Day Outline 

Hour One 10AM-11AM 

Presentation about historical storytelling in ceramics, leading into a demo about how I create my creatures through pinching and adding small bits of clay to build up a surface. We will then talk about texturing pieces, and how to use stamps to create dimension in a body. We will cover:

★ Pinched forms 

★ Textures through tools 

★ Textures through stamps 

★ How to create your own ceramic stamps 

★ Posing bodies 

Hour Two 11AM-12PM 

Students will work on their own creatures, and we will go around and share what stories we are imagining for our sculptures. Students will be encouraged to share their own life stories, if they are comfortable. We will also be able to have one on one time to individually help students. 

~Noon lunch break 12PM-12:30PM~ 

Hour Three 12PM-1PM 

I will show a presentation featuring different contemporary artists who utilize backgrounds and bases for their pieces. I will then do a demo on adding an environment around our creatures. This can include putting our creatures on a grassy hill, in a cozy home, sitting on a rock, or just a simple base. We will continue to use textures created by different tools to bring our stories to life. 

Hours Four and Five 1PM-3PM

Students will finish (as much as possible within the timeframe) their small sculptures. We will be able to have one on one time to best help students. Within the last ~45 minutes of the workshop, we will go around and have a casual critique to see what each student has accomplished, and to give them a chance to explain the stories behind their sculptures.