Sherri Patten Ceramics: Ceramic Name Plate Project

Teachers have asked me to post this project so here it is!
A majority of the time, this has been the first project of the year for my beginning ceramics classes for my high school students. However, if you haven't done much clay sculpture with just about any grade level it can work out well with just a bit of tweaking.
Note: It might be best for elementary school and middle school students to cut their letters out one day, lay them on top of their clay base, put them in a plastic bag, and then score and slip them the next class. This allows the clay letters to harden up a bit. If you have any questions, you can reach me at sat8794@lausd.net.

Name Plate Project

Day 1: I present the project by showing them a sad, broken nameplate. On this example, half of the letters have fallen off because the student didn't put supports behind them. It just says, "Esa." It has plain block letters and no objects. Talk about how we are all individuals. They are more creative than plain, block letters. And there are plenty of things that they love to do that could be a great part of this nameplate. Students brainstorm and I make poster of things they like to do, see, and ideas for goals for the future such as a career, and places they'd like to travel.

Day 2-6. Do videos on my You Tube Channel "Sherri Patten Ceramics with students making the object at the same time with you making it using a projector so that they can see the process. These are quick studies. I don't want them to invest so much time into the practice that they have a desperate need to keep their practice items. I tell them it's just like when they practice playing video games. But this time at least they get a grade for it. Grade immediately after doing the practice and have a student walk behind you gathering them immediately after you grade each person. Otherwise there can be issues with students taking other students' work and trying to get a grade for it. Also I don't want them keeping their practice ones because a student who wants to get out of work can just choose to have the practice ones all of their objects and then you've got an idle student on your hands. And lastly, the practice ones are likely to get too dried out as they practice for several days.

Day 2:

Musical note

Heart

Graduation hat

Day 3:

Skateboard

3D Crown

Flower

Day 4:

Football

iPhone (earbud I just show them)

Day 5:

Bird

Video game controller

Day 6:

Dog

Day 7: Tell them to take a piece of paper, fold it in 1/2.

I have my students look on the internet and write their name 4 times in 4 different crazy artistic fonts - graded on creativity.

Must be block/ fat letters. Look on my You Tube Channel Sherri Patten Ceramics on the video called Ceramic Name Plate Project to show them how to make fat, block letters - this technique I have used with 1st graders with success.

I ask them to color the one they like the most so that I can talk to them about if the font can work in clay.

Students with long names can put their names slanted on the name plate so that they can fit more letters on. I ask for 4 letters or more of a name. If a student has less leters, they can put their middle and last Initial. If they are concerned that people will blend the letters together, tell them to put the middle and last initial in a different font, put larger spaces between the letters, and/or make the last initial a different color.

They will be using this paper to cut out their name Plate letters.

Day 8:

You lead them in making a slab of clay. Making the slab of clay is also on the video I made mentoned above. They can use their 1/2 sheet of paper in which they wrote their name to cut out their nameplate (or you can make the name plate smaller than this size to fit easier in smaller kilns). You can grade them partly on the base being a creative shape if you’d like.

Put aside.

Day 9: Put up grading criteria:

I have something like:

For the chance of an “A,” B, or C Grade:

1 You must have your name (more than 3 letters - if a name is 2 letters, they can put the first initial of the last name) ) in wildly creative, fat letters standing up vertically on your nameplate that are scored and slipped adequately so that they don’t fall off.

2 You must have 5 objects that are 3D (made of separate pieces of clay that are scored and slipped together) that represent things that you love on your name Plate. Two of the objects must have 3 or more parts that are scored and slipped together well so they don’t fall off.

3 Higher grades of A’s and B’s are for projects that are smoothed well - no bumpy clay or sloppy attaching. Edges must be smoothed on letters and all objects. Sgraffito (carving into the clay) must be done with a pencil and lines must be cleaned well.

note: If a paper clip is used to draw lines on clay, the score is a D or worse since the glazing will not go well with these tiny marks.

Day 10: students cut out their letters. Look on Sherri Patten Ceramics You Tube Channel Ceramics Nameplate Project to see how to do that in the easiest manner. They score and slip them onto their nameplates.

Day11: Students put on supports (example on my video called "Ceramic Name Plate")

Day 12 - 16: Students Are given 1 class time to make each object and score and slip it onto their name Plates.

These first ones are focused mostly on what the students like to do: