Last Friday the 6th grade class visited the Community Creative Center (CCC) in Fayetteville to create a Celadon inspired vessel as part of a continued arts integration project. Since the beginning of the semester the 6th grade class have been studying Asian history, iconography and stories in both Mr. Taylor’s and Mrs. Cerna’s classes. To make a lasting cultural impact our teachers decided to align their curriculum and offer an arts integration project that incorporated the current assigned novel A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park in Mrs. Cerna’s class and the study of Chinese and Korean iconography in Mr. Taylor’s class.
A week prior to the visit to CCC students learned about the tradition of Korean pottery through a presentation of the style and process of ceramic called Celadon. With historical, cultural and artistic knowledge gained in the classroom the students journeyed to CCC where teaching artists provided instruction on how to create a vessel using pinch and coil techniques. Each student completed a vessel then applied a Korean symbol in black underglaze from a sketch in which they drew. After drying the pots will be fired then a celadon like glaze will be applied before the final firing.
In addition to the Celadon inspired vessel, each student was also given “a single shard” from a slab in the shape of a Korean vase. Students were encouraged to elaborately embellish the piece as described in the novel. Once all the shards are fired they will be reassembled to reveal a complete vessel with brilliantly decorated individual shards of pottery worthy of an emperor (or at least an “A” from the teachers).
To learn more about the Community Creative Center at Walton Arts Center's Nadine Baum Studios and their programming visit https://communitycreativecenter.org/
