Discovery with Clay: Lesson Development at the Claymobile
At the Claymobile, early June is a time for brainstorming. As the school year comes to an end and most residencies are wrapping up, my fellow teaching artists and I have had more time on our hands than usual. Weโve been taking advantage of this time to plan ahead for the summer and the upcoming school year. A huge part of this planning is the development of new projects. Reflecting on the past school year gives us information that we can use to think of new ways to spark creativity, accommodate student needs, and engage our participants.
Iโm always in awe of how art can be used as a tool of social change.
One frequent request weโve gotten from sites is for a Pride-themed project. Projects that highlight LGBTQ+ culture are especially popular during Pride Month in June, and itโs also important to celebrate gender and sexuality diversity throughout the year. We already have one project that we often use for Pride-themed events, where participants create their own flags. This is a super open-ended projectโIโve seen students make Pride flags, the flags of their familyโs country of origin, or even create their own design to express a part of their identity. In addition to the flag project, Claymobile teaching artist Mattie Lacognata is currently developing a lesson based on the work of influential pop artist and LGBTQ+ rights activist Keith Haring. Haringโs work deals with topics such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic, apartheid, and queer rights. Mattie drew from the iconic stylized figures featured in much of Haringโs work to develop a lesson in which participants will create their own Haring-esque characters out of clay. Through this lesson, students can express their identities and issues that matter to them while learning about Haringโs life and influence on art history. Iโm really looking forward to teaching the Keith Haring project at a library workshop next week!
Another new lesson weโre exploring is nerikomi, a Japanese technique for marbling different clay bodies together to create patterns and designs. Claymobile staff had the opportunity to participate in a workshop with Mackenzie Pikaart, a talented ceramicist who often uses nerikomi in her work. Mackenzie demonstrated different techniques for mixing clay to create a variety of effects. We discussed how nerikomi can be unpredictable, especially for beginners, and it often produces unexpected results with the patterns it creates. This unpredictability is something I found especially exciting about nerikomi. Learning how to create art, especially in a medium that is new to many of our students, is a vulnerable process. Making mistakes is an essential part of learning, but itโs also common (and natural) to feel frustrated when the art piece you create doesnโt come out looking how you envisioned it. But with nerikomi, so much of the technique relies on trying things without being sure of how they will turn out. We discussed how teaching nerikomi could be a great opportunity to have students lean into the joy of imperfection and discovery with clay. Marbling clay without any expectation of โperfectionโ frees students to take risks and find inspiration in the unexpected.
Our last major lesson development project has been to create projects that are accessible to those with limited motor function in their hands. Claymobile often teaches sites at senior centers, where many of the participants find it difficult to use a skewer or manipulate clay with their hands. Because of this, many of Claymobileโs repertoire of projects are simply not accessible to participants at these sites. Instead, we focus on projects that are usually flat and donโt require scratching and attaching. Our recent goal has been to create a set of new projects that are accessible to students with limited movement in their hands, and that are also engaging and fun to create, such as mini charcuterie boards or wind chimes. Weโve had a lot of success in the past with using forms, pre-cut clay shapes, and other accommodations, and itโs been a rewarding challenge to try to get creative with the tools at our disposal to ensure that our program is truly open and accessible to all participants.ย
In the midst of all of this brainstorming, I feel inspired to see my fellow teaching artistsโ commitment to our students. With every new lesson we create, weโre always striving to enhance our participantsโ experienceโnot just artistically, but also in terms of highlighting diversity and history, embracing imperfection and letting go of control, and providing full accessibility. New projects are an opportunity to address new needs or reach out to new populations. Iโm always in awe of how art can be used as a tool of social change, and this recent round of lesson development is a perfect example. I look forward to putting these lessons into practice in the next year!
Emily Lu
Emily (she/her) is the FAO Schwarz Fellow at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia.
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