Terra Cotta Warriors

Artwork inspired by the Chinese Terra Cotta Warriors:

The latest and greatest Terra Cotta Warriors!  For a detailed description of the lesson and process, check out previous posts here and here and here.  However, one thing I have changed about my teaching is due to some new technology I have at my disposal.  I have a SMART TV in my classroom--think giant television sized tablet.  The TV is amazing and I love that it has replaced my projector.  One of the main things I love about it is that I don't have to have the lights off to see what is on the screen.  This is my favorite feature because I can make demonstration videos and loop them so that they play non stop during work time.  This has been a tremendous help, because all teachers know that it is difficult being the one expert in a room of 25-30 curious, learning minds.  The looping videos allow me to work one on one with those struggling while a lot of those that simply forgot what step comes next or how to do something can glance up at the screen and watch to see what it was that they need to do.  I can't tell you how helpful this is!  Such a time saver and the kids love it so that they don't all have to wait for me to make it through the sea of raised hands to get to their "quick question."

Bisqueware:

Post Smoke Firing:

Checkout that crossbow!

This student had no idea who Charlie Chaplin is/was but he totally created a Charlie Chaplin Warrior!  Love that he even gave it a bowler hat and cane!

Smoke Fired Warriors

Terra Cotta Warrior Update-They're Finished!

 This is two photos of the display merged together, so I apologize for anywhere that it doesn't quite merge correctly in the middle!

My terra cotta warriors have been smoke fired (or sawdust fired, as some people like to call it)! 
Last week, myself and a former art teacher at Ballard loaded up the kiln aka trash can that I drilled holes into with bisque warriors, sawdust, sticks, pinecones and anything dried up and burnable that I could find.  We started with a bedding of sawdust, added some warriors, more sawdust and burnables, more warriors, etc.

My school let me lock it up in the batting cages so that no one would disturb it and so that once it was running and hot, no one would accidentally touch it out of curiosity  So after it was all loaded, I left it locked up overnight and returned to it bright and early the next morning... 

 And I set it on fire!  Actually, I just tucked a few newspapers underneath a few of the sticks and lit them on fire.

I let it burn for a few minutes and put the lid back on the garbage can so that the flames would become smolders and the sawdust and such would burn down slowly while giving awesome effects to our clay army

I let it burn all day and let it cool for a day before unloading the warriors.  I rinsed them off and could finally show off the finished product!  We had a few casualties (a few heads and feet fell off due to inadequate slipping and scoring) but we managed to doctor all of the warriors up so that they appeared to be intact!  I love our clay army and couldn't be more proud of the work my 6th graders put in and how their army turned out!

 I had to brag to my fellow art teachers in the district of how well the warriors turned out so I took them to the "kiln" for a show and tell session

Some more photos worth bragging about:

Terra Cotta Warriors Update

An army fit for a king...and a kiln

Bisque Warriors Inside the Kiln

Clay Army- Terra Cotta Warriors Continued

Be afraid, be very afraid!

More students have finished their warriors and we're lining them up for a bone dry army ready for their first kiln experience!  I'll keep posting photos as students finish and I'll definitely post more once they have been smoke fired (I just can't wait for that finished smokey, rustic effect)!

Enjoy...

This warrior even has battle scars!  Check out his eye

 

I love the epaulettes on this one!

Terra Cotta Warriors

The Underground Army

I am unbelievably fascinated by the Chinese Terra Cotta Warriors!  So when my 6th graders started learning about China in Social Studies, I jumped at the chance to make our very own!  I began by introducing them to the warriors with a PBS video called Secrets of the Dead: China's Terra Cotta Warriors (link to the video is provided with the title).  The video tells about the discovery of the warriors, how they were made, a few guesses of their history and general facts about how the warriors impact science and art today...it is a really great video and the kids absolutely loved it!  The video runs for almost an hour so I skipped around a little to get the major points to the kids all within one 45 minute class period. 

We discussed the warriors and the video and the kids were really excited to get to work on their own clay warriors.  I'm always a little leary about playing videos because I'm not sure how much kids pay attention to them but this one had the kids hooked because when we went to write down facts on the white board they remembered all kinds of facts and were asking really good questions based on things mentioned in it, so I considered it a great success for a project intro. 

Our white board list of Warrior Facts

I wanted the kids to start out with the torso and work with proportion from there, I also wanted them to attempt to build their torso out of coils to get a sense of how the original warriors were formed.  So after a short demonstration and a brief discussion on body proportion I left each table of students with a drawing dummy (for proportion and body form reference purposes), canvas to work on and chunks of clay and set them to coil building!  So of the students really struggled and I encouraged them to keep trying, as the next session, I would offer an easier/more basic method of torso construction.  At the end of class, we wrapped up our clay pieces in plastic bags and placed them on a block of wood with each students' name on them.  (In the pictures below, I removed the plastic bags.)  Make sure you tell the students to blend their coils together as they go to make it easier, some of my students were waiting and when it got as tall as they needed, it started to collapse a little, and since they are only in 6th grade, it is best for them to do a little at a time.  I really tried to emphasize size and proportion but I still ended up with some chubby little warriors!  More to love, I guess (or battle against)!

The beginning stages of coil built torsos



During our second class period I gave my students the option to finish coil building their torso or start anew with a slab built, cylindrical torso.  Many opted for the slab, which is totally fine by me!  I had taught my class about clay wedging in a previous class period but to save time, I pre-wedged clay balls for my students.  I had also precut some templates and had the kids use those and showed them how to slip/score them together and how to use their remaining slab piecess to close off the top for shoulders and the bottom for a place to attach our legs/feet.  They start out looking very clunky and almost mug-like, but once we began adding arms and shoulders, they resembled more of a torso. A few of of my students observed that our torso was now one big airbubble and would explode in the kiln, but I reassured them that we'd poke a hole in them before firing.

These students opted for the slab built torso and have moved on to creating coils for arms



This student has coil built her torso and is smoothing out the slip and scored arm joints



Once the torsos were intact, we moved on to clay modeling.  The students used more pre-wedged clay to form coil arms, short/heavy/stable legs and feet and an egg shaped head to be attached to the torso with a modeled neck or an extra thick coil.  I reminded them that everything (other than when we are coil building) needed to be slip and scored together to ensure stability.  I also reminded students that the warriors needed their arms to be attached to their sides or across their body in some way so that they would be less likely to break.  I demonstrated all of these steps and encouraged them to keep the basic shapes simple and then form and add details later (e.g. use one basic coil for arms and hands, then use clay tools to add the correct shape and details to hands).  I encourage big fat feet and stumpy legs "as if they are wearing giant gravity boots" for stability, it takes the students awhile to grasp this, but they'll be happy when their warrior can stand and he doesn't get broken ankles!  We did these steps over multiple class periods (I can't say specifically how many because our schedule kept getting messed up with late starts and early outs due to snow).

This student is has already added arms to her slab torso and is working on modeling some feet to stabilize her warrior

 This student is beginning his feet for his coil built warrior

This student wants to add a weapon in its hand so he is slip and scoring his looped/open hand to the body

 Student sculpting her warrior's head (you can see her torso and clunky feet as well)

 Same student as above, this is just the close up shot

Another student sculpting his head is off to a great start!

We modeled some necks to be slip and scored onto the torsos and heads and began adding details to our armor.  Many of the students used toothpicks and paper clip ends to add design elements to their warrior clothing.  Some went with the look of traditional ancient Chinese armor as seen in the video and others gave them some modern touches like basketball jerseys.  I do prefer the warriors more true to history, but I also wanted to ensure that my students had some freedoms in their warrior making.  I think it is important for my students to like their final product, since it ultimately is theirs and they were still demonstrating the basic clay building skills and general understanding/appreciation for the Terra Cotta Warriors.

 Students assembling their little army!

 Don't worry, she won't be headless for long, but please note the stylish necklace

Adding details!

 A happy warrior (notice the big grin?  such an extension of this student's personality!)

The warriors are pretty much all assembled and ready for battle (with the kiln?)...well most of them are anyway.    I cannot wait to smoke fire these warriors!  They are looking amazing and I am so impressed with how hard the kids worked!  I will be sure to upload pictures of the finished work, smoke fired and all.  We still have some finishing touches on a lot of them, but I just couldn't wait that long to share what they have done so far, I am beyond impressed and excited!

 Can you even tell which one is the model warrior that came in a Barnes and Noble book set?  Or do ours just blend right in?!?

The first finished warriors...the two in the back were made by twins!  The one looks so mischeviously angelic and the other may have a little extra padding...

What our army will soon resemble! Stay tuned for new photos of the finished warriors!