Creativity and excitement has filled the Art room over the last few months as the 5th year CBC Art students develop new skills and techniques with local Ceramics artist Maeve Gallagher, through the Creative Engagement Programme. The students have been adventurous and determined to overcome the challenges they face developing throwing and turning skills on the pottery wheel as they finish another round of beautiful pieces ready to be fired and glazed. The students have just learned the various application techniques involved in glazing their bowls with the first batch of ready for the second firing in the kiln.
During the past few months the students have modelled their clay birds, before creating plaster molds which are now ready for the next step where they will produce a collection of contemporary birds as part of their final ceramics sculpture design. As the students work together to finalise their design the motivation levels are high as they see the results of all their hard work at the finishing stages of their project.
The students decided to model birds from clay, giving them a contemporary look rather than a realistic look but liked the idea of including some texture before making plaster molds to produce a large amount of birds in a lighter material which would allow them to hang from a height. The idea behind it, is that a few distant birds will fly in to join the flying flock before scattering off independently to make their own journeys representing the students coming together for their journey through school before fleeing the nest to begin their own future.
This has been a fantastic experience, not only for the students involved, but for other art students that got the opportunity to get involved in the various workshops and processes along the way.
CBC will unveil their contemporary Ceramics Sculpture in April/May.
“That is so good…its like a real proper bowl” One student commenting
“This is so much fun…we get to work with really messy stuff. I am so excited!”
“That’s so cool the way you can see the birds feathers”
“It would be great to have a deep alternative meaning to our piece. Could we look at shadow art and incorporate it somehow?” A student’s input during a group discussion of developing our ideas.
