Art Lesson for The Family School
American Indian Pottery - Useful Decoration
The children will learn the uses of and methods for creating Native American pottery. They will learn that humble and obedient followers of Christ can be molded like clay in the Lord’s hands and be useful in building His kingdom.
Academic Concept: The American Indians created beautiful pottery to help them with their tasks.
Gospel Principle: If we live our lives centered in Jesus Christ, He can successfully mold us so that we can help with the task of building His kingdom on the earth.
Home Preparation & Materials
Self-Hardening Clay (1lb per child), small container of water, rolling pin, fork and spoon, tempera paints (optional)
Vocabulary
ceramics— the word "ceramics" comes from the Greek root keramos, meaning "pottery", and "potter's clay." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceramic_art)
slip— watery clay mixture used to smooth and “glue” clay pieces together
temper— the process of blending in ground rocks, bones, sand, etc. to clay to bring to a desired consistency and texture and protect the clay from breaking under high heat
anthropologist— one who studies human origins, societies, and cultures
LESSON
Attention Activity
} Prepare by taking outside a container filled with about a half gallon of water and an empty container roughly the same size. Place the containers about ten feet apart. We are going to begin today with a challenge. I have placed a container filled with water over here and an empty container over there. Your job is to transfer as much water from the full bucket to the empty bucket. Sound easy? Well, the challenging part is you may only use things on your body or natural things you find outside to move the water. You have 5 minutes to transfer as much water as you can. Go!
- What did you think of that challenge? (Accept any answer.)
- Was it easy to move the water? (Accept any answer.)
- What worked the best? (Accept any answer.)
Today we are going to learn about people who faced a similar challenge and what they did to solve it.
Lesson
Many thousands of years ago, long before Columbus or any explorers came, there were people who inhabited the American continent. These people lived off of the land and found ways to make living in the wilderness easier. Some were hunters and gatherers, meaning they traveled around hunting animals for food and collecting food that grew naturally from the earth. They did not stay in one place very long because the food and animals would soon run out. They invented tools to help them hunt and homes, like teepees, that were easy to take along with them wherever they went.
Other native people preferred staying in one place and learned to farm so they could always have food without traveling to find it. These farming tribes soon found that they would need containers to store seed, crops, and to transport water in. They used baskets woven from branches and made clay pots. Some historians believe that native tribes discovered pottery by packing clay around baskets to protect the basket from burning in the fire. Under the high temperatures the clay hardened and kept its shape. Pottery was very useful for tribes who stayed in one place, but for hunters and gatherers it was too heavy and fragile to haul around.
- Do you think a clay pot would have been helpful during our first activity when you were trying to take water from one place to another? (Yes.)
- Do you enjoy looking for clues? (Accept any answer.)
Historians and scientists who want to learn about human cultures are called anthropologists. Anthropologists love looking for clues. Because there are no written histories of the early Native American people everything we know about them is pieced together by what they have left behind and by traditions that have been passed on. Anthropologists are happy when they find pottery. They can discover a lot of things about a culture from the pottery left behind.
It is rare to find unbroken pieces of ancient pottery. The broken pieces of pottery are called shards.
Have you ever seen a pottery shard? (Answers will vary.) Let’s look at some that were found in the deserts of New Mexico.
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When historians find a lot of pieces together they can try to piece together shards like a big puzzle. Here is a picture of a pot that was pieced together from broken shards. } Show (2) Pueblo Pottery Pieced Together Image
- Do you see the cracks where it was pieced together and the holes where pieces are still missing? (Yes.)
- Would you enjoy piecing together this kind of puzzle? (Accept any answer.)
Sometimes whole pieces of pottery are found. This is a picture of one man’s collection of Native American pottery.
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Look at all the different shapes and styles used. Though different in design, these ceramics were all created in the same way. They were made with clay from the earth, carefully collected and tempered, or mixed with bones or stones to make the clay strong. They were constructed using the coil or pinching techniques that we will learn more about in our project today. And lastly they were placed in a hot fire to make the clay strong and durable.
The pots with designs on them were usually painted with sap or charcoal using the chewed up end of a yucca plant as a paint brush.
- How do you think the designs on the front row of pots was made? (Using a finger or stick to add texture.)
Another clue anthropologists try to solve is how the ceramic pieces were used.
- How do you think this piece was used? } Show (4) Anasazi Ladle Image (It is a ladle for drinking or scooping.)
Many of these look like mugs and bowls.
- What about the pot on the front right with the animal shapes on the top? What do you think that pot was for? (Accept any answer.)
It is called an urn. It was used to hold ashes from a loved one who had died to honor or remember them.
Some pottery pieces were big for holding crops or storing food and water. Others were small for drinking, scooping or storing seeds. Whatever their use, these ancient art pieces help us learn about the beautiful creations of a hard-working people.
As you see, “The American Indians created beautiful pottery to help them with their tasks.” Write this academic concept on the board.
GOSPEL CONNECTION
Ancient cultures in the bible also used ceramics to help in their tasks. In the Bible clay pots were often called vessels. Ceramic vessels were common in Biblical households and the people would have been well acquainted with pottery making. Many lessons were taught using vessels and pottery for examples. In fact, the prophet Isaiah compared people to clay to teach an important principle. Let‘s read together what Isaiah said.
The ancient prophet Isaiah stated, “But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.” (Isaiah 64:8)
- What principle is Isaiah trying to teach? (We are Heavenly Father’s children, He created us.)
- Does Heavenly Father create anything worthless? (No.)
- Our Heavenly Father has a plan for us, doesn’t he? What is His plan for us? (To become like Him, to learn to love as He loves, to help His children, to return to live with Him.)
Like a master potter, Heavenly Father created us with a specific and beautiful purpose in mind.
Brother Richard J. Maynes shared a story about a youth group who learned about pottery. They visited an art studio with a spinning pottery wheel. I am going to read to you the experience they had.
“Elder Taiichi Aoba of the Seventy, who resides in a small mountain village in Shikoku, Japan, was asked to teach a class at a youth conference. “Stand Ye in Holy Places” was selected as the theme of the conference. After considering the theme and what to teach, Elder Aoba decided to use his vocation as a teaching tool. His work is making pottery.
Elder Aoba relates that his classroom of youth really sprang to life when they saw how he was able to almost magically transform the shape of the clay in his hands to plates, bowls, and cups. After his demonstration, he asked them if any of them would like to give it a try. They all raised their hands.
Elder Aoba had several of the youth come forward to try out their new interest. They assumed, after watching him, that this would be quite simple. However, none of them were successful in their attempts to make even a simple bowl. They proclaimed: “I can’t do this!” “Why is this so hard?” “This is so difficult.” These comments took place as the clay flew all around the room.
He asked the youth why they were having such difficulty making pottery. They responded with various answers: “I don’t have any experience,” “I have never been trained,” or “I have no talent.” Based on the result, what they said was all true; however, the most important reason for their failure was due to the clay not being centered on the wheel. The youth thought that they had placed the clay in the center, but from a professional’s perspective, it wasn’t in the exact center. He then told them, “Let’s try this one more time.”
This time, Elder Aoba placed the clay in the exact center of the wheel and then started to turn the wheel, making a hole in the middle of the clay. Several of the youth tried again. This time everyone started clapping when they said: “Wow, it’s not shaking,” “I can do this,” or “I did it!” Of course, the shapes weren’t perfect, but the outcome was totally different from the first attempt. The reason for their success was because the clay was perfectly centered on the wheel.”
- Does creating pottery on a wheel sound difficult or easy? (Accept any answer.)
- What is the secret to being able to successfully create pottery on a potter’s wheel? (Placing the clay in the exact center of the wheel.)
Elder Maynes goes on to explain how we can relate this story to our own lives. He says, “The world in which we live is similar to the potter’s spinning wheel, and the speed of that wheel is increasing. Like the clay on the potter’s wheel, we must be centered as well. Our core, the center of our lives, must be Jesus Christ and His gospel. Living a Christ-centered life means we learn about Jesus Christ and His gospel and then we follow His example and keep His commandments with exactness. If our lives are centered in Jesus Christ, He can successfully mold us into who we need to be in order to return to His and Heavenly Father’s presence in the celestial kingdom.”
- How do you think we can make ourselves into the kind of people the Lord can mold? (Being obedient and humble.)
As you see, “If we live our lives centered in Jesus Christ, He can successfully mold us so that we can help with the task of building His kingdom on the earth.” Write this gospel principle on the board.
ART PROJECTS
Art Supplies – All Students
Self-Hardening or Air-drying Clay (Such as AMACO Marblex, or Crayola Air-Dry) about 1lb per child
Water
Rolling pin
Small container for small amount of water
Scratching tool (pencil, nail, fork, etc.)
Metal spoon
Tempera Paints (optional)
- Begin with a flat surface and a tennis ball sized lump of air-drying clay.
- Roll clay into a ball
- Press thumb or finger into the center of the ball to make a hole, but stop about ½ inch from the bottom. If you stick your finger all the way through, roll clay into ball and start again.
- Use gentle pinching motions to thin out the sides of the pot. Pinch with your thumb on the inside of the pot and your other fingers on the outside. Continue pinching around the sides of the pot in a circular motion until the pot is the desired shape and size.
- Cover pot with a towel and allow pot to semi-dry until leather-hard (If it appears chalky it is too dry.)
- When the pot is leather-hard and not quite dry, the children can begin scratching designs into their pot, or gently smooth the sides with a wet finger or back of a spoon. Use forks or sticks to scratch in the designs.
- Allow piece to air dry completely.
- Paint if desired and allow to dry.
- Display or use your pottery!
- Take a picture of the finished piece and place it behind My Art Projects tab in the art folder.
Assignment: Write your name or first initial on the bottom of your pinch pot.
- Begin with a flat surface and a grapefruit sized lump of air-drying clay.
- Make a base for the pot by rolling a piece of clay into a ball. Then use your hand or a rolling pin to flatten the clay to a half-inch thickness, slightly larger than the planned bottom of the pot. Cut it into a circle by placing a glass cup or jar over the flat clay and cut around the glass with a butterknife.
- To make a coil, roll a lump of clay between your hands to form a thick snake-like shape. Put the “snake” on a flat surface. Starting with your fingertips, roll the clay down to the bottom of the palm of your hand and back to your fingertips. Repeat this motion moving up and down the coil, gradually increasing pressure until the coil is about a half-inch in diameter. If the thickness of the coil is uneven, place your hand over the thicker spots and roll with a little pressure.
- The first coil added to the base must be attached using the scratch and slip method. Use a small container of water mixed with some clay about the consistency of thick cream as “slip” or a glue to stick your coils together.
- With a needle tool or fork, scratch the clay on the top of the base around the edge. Then scratch one side of the coil. Attach the first coil along the scratched area of the base with a small amount of slip or water.
- Remember the Pueblo pottery had many different shapes. A coil placed directly on top of the coil below it will make a straight-sided pot. If the coil is placed slightly on the outside edge of the coil below it, the pot will gradually flare open. If the coil is placed on the inside edge of the coil below it, the pot will begin to close.
- As each coil runs out, attach the next one directly against the end of the previous coil. As you work, support the clay with one hand and join the coils on the inside and the outside of the pot by gently pushing a small amount of clay from the top coil into the coil below it.
- If you want to smooth the coils use the back of a spoon or your fingertips to gently rub in circular motions to smooth the clay. Smoothing the coils on the inside helps to make the pot water tight.
- The top of the pot is called the lip, and it needs to be finished carefully to give the pot a completed look. Use a small amount of water to smooth the last coil on the lip.
- Allow piece to air dry.
- Paint if desired and allow to dry.
- Display or use your pottery!
- Take a picture of the finished piece and place it behind My Art Projects tab in the art folder.
Assignment: Write down how you can use your pottery creation.
Assignment: In the Bible pottery is often referred to as a vessel. Do a word study for the word “vessel”.
MORE FUN with AMERICAN INDIAN POTTERY
Family Follow-up: Select a time when children's recordings can be shared with family members, such as mealtime, family home evening, or before family prayer.
Further Research: Many native cultures use ceramics. Find another native people who made pottery and compare their method to the Native Americans studied in this lesson.
Art Project: If students made the coil pot have them try a pinch pot. If they made a pinch pot have them try a coil pot. Instructions for both are in the record section.
Computer Activities: Watch a wordless video of a modern potter who demonstrates the authentic anasazi method. (Artist is not dressed modestly.)
Family Night Idea: View Latter-Day Saints Native American Art, including pottery inspired by the Tree of Life and Plan of Salvation.
Further Research: Scientists give approximate dates of when a pot was made by using carbon dating. Watch the simple explanation on Carbon Dating and discuss the accuracy of this method.
Family Night Idea: Study together the entire conference talk by Richard J. Maynes, The Joy of Living a Christ-Centered Life.
Art Project and FieldTrip: Locate a ceramic studio or pottery center (high schools and universities often have them) in your area and try “throwing” a pot on a potter’s wheel.
Enrichment Resources
The Joy of Living a Christ-Centered Life (Richard J. Maynes)
Ways to create with air-dry clay Website
Authentic anasazi method Video
Lesson Plan Resources
Record Resources
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