Coil Pot Workshop Led By An Artist
Watch artist Mike Eden demonstrate how to make a clay coil pot
and see a whole class at work in response on Culture Street
[Link]/workshops.
As well as class-friendly, step-by-step video clips for your pupils,
youʼll find comprehensive hints and tips to help you replicate this
kiln-free project in school. Why not photograph the results and
email them to us to share on Culture Street?
info@[Link]
[Link]
Coil Pot Workshop Led By An Artist
[Link]
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3
Cut clay Make ball Squeeze
Using wire to cut the Using the flat of the hand Squeezing and turning to
clay. to make a ball of clay. make the base of the
pot.
Step 5 Step 6
Step 4
Joining part one Joining part two
Coils
Adding a new coil; Methodically joining the
Rolling a coil using the
cutting. coil to the rest of the pot.
hands from finger ends
to wrists.
Step 8 Step 9
Step 7
Decoration End product
Smoothing
Decorating with stamps. Talking about the finish
Smoothing with a plastic
product.
card.
[Link]
Suggested Classroom Activity
KS2 Art
Learning Objectives Resources
National Curriculum: Primary Art. Pupils should be taught:
to increase their proficiency in the handling of different materials
KS2 Art
National Curriculum: Primary Art.
Learning Objectives
Pupils should be taught: to increase their proficiency in the handling of different materials
1. identify the materials used in the prodction of earthenware pottery
2. identify techniques used in producing clay forms
3. create a simple pot using the techniques outlined on the site.
4. decorating that form
5. realise that there are contemporary artists who create art as a living....understand the motivations
behind the choice of art as a career
6. to review what they and others have done, say what they think and feel about it and what they
might change
The nine films show the key stages of a clay coil pot workshop which was delivered on one day by
artist Mike Eden with a group of Year 6 pupils. Watch the clips and replicate the stages to produce
simple or more complicated forms. If the workshop is not completed in one session the clay needs to
be covered by plastic to prevent it drying out and becoming unworkable. Allowing the clay to dry
slightly can help the final polishing and tidying up of the pots.
The materials used is real clay, either terracotta or grey earthenware clay is fine. To make a permanent
end product from this workshop the clay needs to throughly dry and be fired in a kiln. However we
think the workshop works just as well using photography to record the finished pots. We are always
keen to showcase those images in the Culture Street gallery so please send them to us
Development Activity
Make a slip-decoarted plate using our interactive activtiy Slipdecorator. This activity shows liquid clay
being chemically changed in a virtual kiln to reveal the pottery colours. You can deocrate the plates
using, sponge, brishes, stamps and scraffitto tools but you can not undo. The virtual kiln takes 10
seconds to fire a simialr real kiln would take 3 days to get up to tempertaure and down to a level safe
to open.
Resources
Clay workshop kit
We now supply a kit that has all you need to deliver the clay workshop to a whole class. It
includes a bag of clay, rolling pin, clay cutter and all the tools you will need to successfully
replicate the activity in the videos.
This kit includes real clay which to preserve permanently needs to be fired in a kiln. The
workshop does not depend on access to a kiln and we envisage that the end product is the
group photographed with their work. Go to our shop to buy this kit
[Link]
[Link]
More clay on Culture Street
Mike Eden started out using all the Your class can turn designer with our
traditional pottery techniques, online Slipdecorator activity, including
including the potter’s wheel. But his a virtual kiln! They can create their
work is not as traditional as you might own designs on Slipdecorator and
think and his ideas will surprise you. then ‘fire’ them, and print out the
[Link] finished products.
[Link]?id=13 [Link]
slipdecorator/
