Detail, Quilting Time Made in 1986 Romare Bearden, American, 1914-1988 Mosaic tesserae mounted on plywood Founders Society Purchase with funds from the Detroit Edison Company (1986.41) © Romare Bearden Foundation Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY Click the image for more information.

Description:

Students recognize and celebrate the cultures that surround them by using symbols in clay relief sculptures to make a globe stand for the Media Center.

Grade level: 7th grade

Activity:
This entire unit took about 16 days of 45-minute class periods. Class size was 25-30 students.

• Dictionary
  
• Sketch book or paper, soft lead pencils
  
• White water based clay-cone 05-08
  
• Clay tools
  
• Individual clay working boards made of canvas-covered plywood 12” x 12”
  
• Glaze
  
• Plywood for mounting clay reliefs and constructing stand
  
• Mounting adhesive for ceramics (teacher use only)

Day 1: Culture Defined
We visited the museum with students before this lesson began.
The Webster's definition of the word culture:

Student's Culture Definition (click the image for a larger version).

"Culture (Kul'cher) n. 1. The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought characteristic of a community or population. 2. A style of social and artistic expression peculiar to a society or class. 3. Intellectual and artistic activity, and the works produced by it. 4. The act of developing the social, moral, and intellectual faculties through education. 5. A high degree of taste and refinement formed by aesthetic and intellectual training. 6. The development of the body through special training." Webster’s Dictionary. Ambler, PA: Kappa, 1999.
Students discussed lessons from other classes that include culture; World Languages, Social Studies units on religion and regions, and the annual 7th grade field trip that visits religious institutions in Dearborn See Preparation and Resources.
Students also discussed the prominent cultures that are in the Dearborn area, and what makes these cultures unique.
Students took notes to write their own definition of what the word culture means. Student’s Culture Definition.

Day 2
I asked the question, "What is going on in this ‘backyard’?" I hoped students would discover these were ordinary people going about their daily lives, as we looked carefully and discussed three works we had seen at the DIA: Quilting Time by Romare Bearden, The Piper by Hughie Lee-Smith, Bookshop: Hebrew Books, Holy Day Books by Ben Shahn . Each student then wrote a story about what they thought was going on in one of the paintings. We then discussed our stories and some were read aloud.

Student story: Hebrew Bookshop	Student story: The Piper
(click each image for a larger version.)

Day 3
Discussion continued as I shared the history of these artists and additional artwork (see Images and Information and Resources). I chose to share specific information about each artist after students had a chance to write their own ideas, as this made them look more carefully a second time to compare how their stories agreed or were different from the information we have. Then the students were better able to discuss how the artists depict culture or give hints of their cultural background in each work.

Narrative sketches (click the image for a larger version).

3-D values sketch (click the image for a larger version).

Days 3-4
Planning Process
Each student created a square of 8" x 8" in their sketchbook. My demonstration of how to use a T-square was helpful for students. The students then made a narrative sketch using the subject of their own backyard. They used their notes and definition of culture to find things that represented a story from their background and culture. Students were also encouraged to discuss this lesson with their families to get ideas.

I suggested they use symbols to simplify and communicate their ideas. At this time we discussed symbols and suggestions were made to use national flags as symbols of ethnic heritage, symbols of religion (cross for Christianity), symbols of holiday seasons (Menorah for Hanukkah), and symbols that represent institutions such as marriage (two rings).

Students created a complete sketch using values from dark to light with soft lead graphite drawing pencils. Students used value to show depth to help in representing what their design would look like as a 3-dimensional clay relief.

Rolling out clay slabs (click the image for a larger version).

Day 5
Each student needed to roll out an 8X8" slab of clay 1/2" thick. I demonstrated how to roll flat and evenly from a slab I cut from a larger block of clay. Students used rulers and t-squares to measure their slabs. Slabs were loosely covered with plastic to keep them moist between class periods.

Adding pieces of clay to tile (click the image for a larger version).

I demonstrated how to add pieces of clay (additive sculpture technique) using slip, or clay thinned with water used to ‘glue’ each piece after the contact surfaces had been roughened, or scored to ensure a good bond.

Days 6-9
Students created clay relief sculpture tiles using their sketches as guides.

Day 10
While clay is drying and being bisque fired, students should plan the colors of glaze they want to use. (This could be done by using colored pencils over the completed pencil sketches created earlier.)

Days 11-13
The bisque-fired relief sculptures are glazed, covering all surfaces.
This is the final process to complete individual clay reliefs.

finished tiles (click the image for a larger version).

Days 14-15
Presentation Process
The students and I placed the fired and completed clay tiles in rows until a pleasing arrangement was found. Later, I used adhesive to permanently install clay tiles on plywood boards

Day 16
Students wrote a short story about their clay relief, answering the following questions:
What is in your backyard?
Have you changed the way you think about culture? Explain.
Describe and list other classes in which you have directly or indirectly studied culture. What are some of these lessons?

Globe stand made of tiles (click the image for a larger version).

The tile panels were too heavy to hang on the wall, as we had originally planned. We divided them into four separate panels two tiles wide and five tiles high. The panels were fastened together to make a tall box with a plain wooden top added. We use this as a stand to display the globe in the school library.