Eighth graders at South Orangetown Middle School are working on creating ceramic mugs in SOMS Art teacher Tatiana DiPierno’s class!
Students first worked with clay in their seventh grade art classes and this year, they are using glazes for the first time to decorate their artwork. Before starting their projects, they came up with the design for their mug and used reference photos they found online to help bring their vision to life.
To make their mugs, students first had to wedge their clay, which is the process of kneading the clay with your hands to make it more pliable and to get rid of any air bubbles. As students began to form their mugs and add attachments such as the handle, DiPierno taught them how to slip and score the clay to join the two pieces of clay together.
DiPierno also explained key points to remember when making something that will not only act as an art piece, but something functional by ensuring the rim of the mug as well as any edges or seams are smoothed out. This week, students are finalizing the structure of their mugs and will begin to coat their ceramic pieces with glaze.
