It's almost time for our Annual Student Ceramic Show. This event will be our second year of hosting it. My hope is to grow the event by including other area high schools in the future. For this year, Grand Haven High School, is my focus for student work.
Sheri Greene, GHHS art instructor, works with these students all year. She teaches techniques to cause the students to really think about their clay work.
The students learn a
wide range of techniques from hand-building techniques such as pinch, coil, slab, solid and
hollow, to basic wheel throwing and trimming of plates, cups, bowls, and
lidded jars, to more advanced wheel throwing such as stacking wheel forms,
donuts, spouts, different methods for lid making, adding pulled handles,
etc.
In terms of ceramic sculpture, the students work both realistically, particularly on the human face, and non objectively on altered wheel sculptures, extruder sculptures, etc. Students also learn a variety of surfacing methods-brushing, pouring, tape resist, wax resist, stains, underglazing, and glaze chemistry. The advanced classes are challenged to make a glaze using non-toxic glaze chemicals. Each student selected must write an artist statement to participate in the show. This requirement further enhances their learning to provide skills if they choose to participate in future art exhibits and shows.
I heard from my nephew that the students are very excited to exhibit at C2C.
The 3:4 Quartet, a student ensemble will be performing during the opening on Friday, May 3.
I am looking forward to each of the students whose work was selected. One of my to-do's before the third is to write a critique on each work selected. I thought the artist's might like to know why their work was selected over other work.
