Summit Hill Elementary
Art EDventures
“Turning and Burning”
2nd Grade/Social Studies
Appalachian Plateau
Lanier Meaders
Brought to you by S.H.E. PTA
PLEASE NOTE: This presentation is to be used for educational purposes only. Do not reproduce.
Meet Lanier Meaders
One of America’s most famous folk potters.
1917 - 1998
Appalachian Plateau
•
There’s a special place you should
know about. It’s called the
Appalachian Plateau. This area
includes the second largest
mountain system in the United
states called the Appalachian
Mountains and it stretches all the
way from New York to Alabama!
(hit enter)
•
A small part of it even runs through
Georgia. (hit enter)
•
It was also birthplace and home to
a very unique potter named Lanier
Meaders, (pronounced Medders)
who was born in 1917 in Mossy
Creek, Georgia. (hit enter)
The Appalachian Way
•
Like Meaders family, most of the
people in Appalachia were pioneers
who moved from places like Ireland
and Scotland. When they tried to
cross the Appalachian ridges, they
found the mountains to be 4,000 ft.
high!
•
So, they decided to settle in remote,
out-of-the-way, small mountain
communities to farm, craft, and mine
coal, which was abundant in
mountains.
•
Because Appalachia was far from
modern cities, the people had to be
self sufficient. They made their own
houses, raised their own food and
created their own entertainment.
Their culture was unique. It produced
Bluegrass Music and Folk Art. (hit
enter)
Father To Son, To Grandson…
•
For instance, Appalachian
people often created raw art
from their imagination with no
schooling or training. This is
called Folk Art.
•
Folk Art is typically passed
down from one generation to
another.
•
For example, Lanier Meaders
learned how to make pottery
from his father, Cheever…
(enter)
•
…who learned the trade from
his father, John.
(enter)
Grandpa John
•
In the early days (1892), when
Grandpa John was alive, potters were
just as important to a community as a
blacksmith or wagon maker. In fact,
without pottery, no one could keep the
food they needed to get through the
winter.
• When there wasn’t a lot of money
around, potters would trade their work
for whatever people had to offer like a
couple of chickens or a bag of beans.
• Later, when glass and tin were easier
to get, the need for pottery dwindled.
Eventually, most of the pottery shops
in the Appalachian Mountain states
closed.
Papa Cheever
•
However, when Lanier’s
dad, Cheever was young
(1930’s), new highways
were built through parts of
the Appalachian Mountains
that never had access
before.
•
Tourists traveling these
highways “discovered” the
handmade Appalachian
pottery and loved it;
breathing life back into the
art form and the Meader’s
family business.
Lanier’s “Turn and Burn”
•
Lanier kept the Meader’s pottery
tradition going and insisted on
doing things the old-fashioned
way.
•
He worked in a simple
workshop made of logs.
(hit enter)
•
Dug up clay from the riverbank
on his land.
•
Used a foot-powered potter’s
wheel to hand-form every piece.
(hit enter)
•
Applied a shiny glaze by hand.
(hit enter)
•
Fired the pieces in a simple
wood-fired brick kiln. (hit enter)
•
He felt it was important to
preserve these old methods
called “turning and burning.”
Meaders’ Log
Workshop
Applying Glaze
“Turning” on a potters wheel.
“Burning” In The
Wood Fired Kiln
Face Jugs
He even revived an old-time mountain tradition of pottery called “face jugs.”
He learned how to make them from his dad, who called them “whimseys,”
and a waste of time. Face jugs were used to keep children away from things
in the kitchen.
•They were told: “If you drink what’s in the jug, your face will look like THIS!”
Would YOU drink from one of these?
Face Jugs Made Famous
• When Lanier was 38 years
old, the Smithsonian Institute
in Washington, DC was
looking for folk artists to
include in the first Festival of
American Folk Life.
• They choose his face jugs to
be part of the festival. His
work became famous and is
still on display today!
(enter)
• Lanier was also given Georigia’s
prestigious Governor’s Award for
his art.
• Then, he became the best known
Folk potter in the country.(hit
enter)
Keeping The Culture
Lanier helped preserve this art form and
the Georgia pottery tradition is alive and
well today!
Thankfully, face jugs have become very
popular and highly collectable! (hit enter)
Many artists today still make them!
Art EDventures Sample
Now it’s your turn be an
Appalachian Folk Artist like
Lanier Meaders.
So Let’s
Play In The
MUD!
Face Jug
Project Art EDventures
Your Jug
•
You should each have a plastic cup. That
will become your jug!
Funny or Frightening Face?
•
Draw The Paw
•
Tip it up-side-down and use a Sharpie to
sign your name and “Draw the Paw” on the
bottom of your cup. This will let others know
your face jug is an Art EDventures creation.
Forming Features
•
You can pinch the clay to form shapes like
noses or ears or roll it between the palms
of your hands to make “coils” to use for lips
or eyebrows. Roll it into balls to make
eyes.
•
Gently press the shapes into the clay on
the cup. Be creative and HAVE FUN!
Your Clay
•
First, you will need some brown Model
Magic-that’s your clay.
Turning Time
•
Take half and cover the outside of your jug.
Be gentle so you don’t break the plastic!
Smooth a thin layer all they way around with
your hands, going just over the lid. Do not
cover the inside of the cup or you will run out
of clay!
Once your cup is covered, use the
remaining clay to form facial features such
as ears, eyes, nose, etc. Face jugs are
famous for their ugly features, so don’t
make a pretty one!
Burning Time
•
You don’t have to bake or “burn” this clay in
a kiln. It will dry in the air and soon you will
have your very own face jug. (But don’t
drink out of it!) What sorts sort of things will
you keep in it?
Supply List
•
•
•
Plastic cups---one per child
Crayola Model Magic modeling clay in earth tone. Each child should have 2
ounces of the clay (one half of a package).
Sharpies for signing names on the bottom of the cups
G.P.S. Ties
SS2G1 The student will locate major topographical features of Georgia and will
describe how these features define Georgia’s surface.
a. Locate all the geographic regions of Georgia: Blue Ridge Mountains, Piedmont,
Coastal Plain, Valley and Ridge, and Appalachian Plateau.
b. Locate the major rivers: Ocmulgee, Oconee, Altamaha, Savannah, St. Mary’s,
Chattahoochee, and Flint.
SS2E1 The student will explain that because of scarcity, people must make
choices and incur opportunity costs.
Art EDventures
Art EDventures
Made possible with your donations to S.H.E.’s PTA
Made possible with your donations to S.H.E.’s PTA
Dear Mom, Dad or Caretaker,
•
•
•
•
Today we learned about an Appalachian Folk
Artist named Lanier Meaders. In fact, he is
the most famous folk art potter in the
country. He is best known for his funny
looking face jugs.
Lanier’s father and grandfather were also
potters. In Appalachia, a long time ago when
Lanier’s Grandpa was alive, potters were as
important to a community as Black Smith or
Wagon maker. And, when people didn’t have a
lot of money, they would trade things like
chickens and beans for his pottery.
We also learned about the Appalachian Plateau
and the Scotch-Irish settlers that live in the
area. Ask me what kind of music comes from
Appalachia!
Take a look at the face jug I made-it’s
supposed to be UGLY!!!
Lanier Meaders
Dear Mom, Dad or Caretaker,
•
•
•
•
Today we learned about an Appalachian Folk
Artist named Lanier Meaders. In fact, he is
the most famous folk art potter in the
country. He is best known for his funny
looking face jugs.
Lanier’s father and grandfather were also
potters. In Appalachia, a long time ago when
Lanier’s Grandpa was alive, potters were as
important to a community as Black Smith or
Wagon maker. And, when people didn’t have a
lot of money, they would trade things like
chickens and beans for his pottery.
We also learned about the Appalachian Plateau
and the Scotch-Irish settlers that live in the
area. Ask me what kind of music comes from
Appalachia!
Take a look at the face jug I made-it’s
supposed to be UGLY!!!
Face Jug
Lanier Meaders
Face Jug