Fessing up already

OK so I have a secret that I have been sort of keeping from this blog and it's honestly pretty dumb but I have done some thinking about it enough (perhaps the better word would be rationalizing?) to finally share it with you all.

Here's my confession: I am (almost) addicted to making virtual pottery on the Let's create Pottery iPad app.

I know. I know. This is so dumb!  I should have been working on reviewing/playing with other iPad apps that are art and design related vs. playing what is essentially a game that could just as well be called Farmville or Cityville.

(And you can stop reading now if you want because I will also admit that I have adamantly REFUSED to jump on the Farmville bandwagon so if I have just offended you, I am sincerely sorry because after puttzing around on the pottery game I am here to tell you I. GET. IT. I am WITH. YOU. and your virtual/sim game/life thing that you cannot get enough of!!!)

But seriously? The pottery game is AWESOME.

IT IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I mean, yes - it IS a game since you don't just fake hand-throw pottery on a fake pottery wheel while fake nature sounds play in the background like you are working en plein air...

... and then fake fire it in your fake kiln...

... and then fake sell it at a fake art auction with a fake soundtrack of an auction gavel and people bidding.

Yes. It is definitely all of that fakeness. BUT! There are also "design" challenges that come in fake email requests and are essentially commissioned pottery requests that have a little message with the design requirements and a picture that you can use to inform your sculpting and glazing decisions. And some of the challenges are actually quite challenging! Especially the castle one toward the end - which would be, like, level 30 or something.

Uhmmm... yes. I did play it all the way to level 30 and beyond and I actually finished the game.

(I am shamed and saddened because I want the app designers to get off their duffs and MAKE. MORE. LEVELS. ALREADY!!!!)

But here's the thing. Even after you finish all of the design challenges, you can still just keep making cool designs and trying to get high scores at the auction so you are essentially competing against yourself.

You can also do things like look up different types of pottery - as in, studying art history (LOVE IT!!!) - and have that help you to inform your sculpting and design decisions.

And if you get really into it, you can start posting some of your favorite designs to the Let's Create Pottery online community gallery (I KNOW. Don't even say anything about me doing this. *Sigh* Just don't.) And look at other people's work and try and see if you can make some of the cool stuff they make!

*crickets*

...

...

*more crickets*

(-_-)

But honestly. It's not all that bad. I mean seriously!

And on that more serious note, I have actually thought about how this app can extend far beyond it just being an online simulation game. 

Now, I don't know enough about throwing pottery on a real wheel so I can't tell you if this so closely imitates that process but as far as problem solving and design challenges that a teacher could give to students similar to the fake commissioned pottery requests within the game, I feel like that is definitely something that could work in an art classroom. I mean, it will never ever be able to take the place of the experience of making REAL pottery but I don't see why it couldn't work as a warm-up activity or idle-hands -type activity.  Of course, you would need to have at least one iPad and more than just one would be much more preferred since I can imagine other students would want to partake in the activity as well. Some ideas for design challenges? Well here are some I challenged myself to make...

 Pretty fun, no? They are all a similar shape/silhouette but I am sure others could be done as well and it would just take some brainstorming. Other stuff could also be done, like, requiring students to use certain color groupings...

The way I see it there's actually a lot that could be done beyond just using this app as a simulation game.  So, that's my review for the iPad app Let's create Pottery. In my defense, I haven't actually been playing near as much as when I first discovered the app and I use it as a bit of a motivator (for myself) when I am in the midst of graduate school work and I need a break. Someone else who likes it too? My four year old daughter! Yeah. It's that easy AND fun.

Kiln... you kill me (-__-)

 While I like, love, and adore most things that come along with my job, there is one thing I strongly dislike, loathe, and even HATE most every time: Using the classroom kiln.

OH MY LAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Now, I understand that this is a COMPLETELY first-world classroom problem because many people have neither clay nor a kiln but indulge me for just a minute since I feel like I rarely make such a request.)

When I first came to this job I was super excited about all of what I was going to get to do. The facilities are pretty much top notch, the students are amazingly talents, and I pretty much could say I had no qualms about anything. Then, they showed me the classroom kiln and I *pretty much*  turned the other way and pretended like it was never shown to me in the first place.

To me, the kiln is this: The place where enthusiasm and what would otherwise be great student artwork comes to die.

Is that melodramatic? Well, that's really the way that it works most of the time and I mean that very literally. Now, I understand that my issues with/against the kiln could be completely as a result of "pilot error" (on my part) but that's not my point here because (in my defense) I have read, researched, and tried the kiln enough times to feel completely legitimized about my raging hatred against it. That being said? I cannot dislike the kiln more at this moment because this is what some beautifully sculpted student work looks like today...

 ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To be completely fair, some of the pieces did make it through the firing process and are currently being painted by the students they belong to but I'd say this represents probably less than 10% of the total amount of student work. *GRRRRRRrrrrrrrrr...*

Oh well... *pfffffffffffffffffffffttttttt*

Just had to get this off my chest.

At least there is model magic - THAT I do love!

End of the year woes

Less than two weeks remaining of school for me and the students are finally doing the "unit" of project work that is ceramics and clay sculpting. It's totally a "first world" complaint but I can't tell you how much I detest this project. Why? Well, NORMALLY I love doing the clay project but my supplies budget was cut about December time which left me scrambling to find material and ultimately landed me with some old-ish hand-me-down clay that just wasn't very well suited for this project. Normally I use Sculpture House Boneware clay so I don't have to deal with the in-classroom kiln but this year I guess I'm going to have to fire it up to finish out the year.

(Like I said before, I am aware this is a total "first world" complaint considering I was even able to have clay to use for three whole classes AND I have a very nice kiln to use whenever I want to. Just don't mind me. I know I'm being a baby about this whole thing.)

The objective for the project was to have the students do cartoon versions of themselves but the clay was hardly the kind that should have been used for this type of thing and I also didn't block off enough time for this so I ended up throwing in the towel and just kind of letting the do whatever. Someone did a really awesome "storm trooper" so I'm glad they were at least able to have fun.

Lesson idea: Organically-inspired sculpture ceramic tiles

This project idea is another one I did two years ago (only once) in 3D Design and haven't done since.  It was the final project/assessment and worked out beautifully despite all of the issues that came along with it. Inspiration for it came from Etsy when I stumbled upon the work of Element Clay Studio.

I loved how refined the work looked while still offering a terrific perspective of what texture might look like at a more macro level. It drew upon not just the beauty that real fine art has but also allowed the possibility for cross-curricular teaching since it could draw upon biology and earth sciences because the subject matter was meant to be completely organic.

 Each student was tasked with coming up with just one macro-view and there were plenty of starfish and lots of other aquatic representations. Another student did a beautiful texture inspired by the back of an alligator and a another one (who was very naturally gifted) did a fingerprint. Sorry I don't have closer pictures of these! I should have taken them at that level but they were a real challenge to hang and once they were up in the gallery (they showed BEAUTIFULLY!) I wasn't about to disturb them. Here is a picture to prove that...

I might try these again next year but perhaps go for ones that aren't 6x6" in size and maybe more 8x8". We'll see. Another thing that is hugely important is if I can fit this in the budget. The kind of clay I used was VERY expensive - can't remember if I used porcelain or not and have to check my ordering archives on that - but if I buy it at the top of the year, I might be able to avoid budget cuts if/when they happen.