Art 241 – Clay I Syllabus
Summer II, 2011
Instructor: Curtis Dinwiddie
Office Phone: 575-538-6501
Cell Phone: 574-313-6170
CRN 40033
Office: McCray
Office Hours: By appointment
e-mail: dinwiddiec@wnmu.edu
Mission Statement
The mission statement of Clay I: To provide the students with opportunities to experience the history,
culture and techniques associated with the creative processes, both hands on and mental, in order to instill
a greater appreciation of clay as an artistic medium.
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Course Catalog Description
Clay I, is an introduction to clay as an art medium, and introduces clay-forming techniques. This includes
throwing, hand building, decorating, glazing and the firing processes. Prerequisite for art majors and
minors: Art 101 (4)
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Required Text(s):
Required Text(s):
Peterson, Susan. The Art and Craft of Clay. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall
Inc., 2000.
Optional Text(s):
*Speight, Charlotte F/Toki, John. Make It In Clay, A Beginner’s Guide to Ceramics. Mountain
View, California: Mayfield Publishing Co., 1997/2000.
*Nelson, Glenn. Ceramics /A Potter’s Handbook. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1984.
*Speight, Charlotte F/ Toki, John. Hands in Clay. California: Mayfield Publishing Co., 1999.
Other Books of Interest:
Ball, Carlton, and Lavoos, Making Pottery Without a Wheel, Texture in Clay, 1978.
Berensohn, Paulus. Finding One’s Way With Clay. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1972.
Blandino, Betty. Coiled Pottery, Traditional and Contemporary Ways. London: Chilton Book
Co., 1984.
Peterson, Susan. The Art and Craft of Clay. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall
Inc., 2000.
Rhodes, Daniel. Pottery Form. Radnor, Pennsylvania. Chilton Speight, 1979.
Rhodes, Daniel. Clay and Glazes for the Potter. Pennsylvania: Chilton Book Company, 1974.
Periodicals:
American Ceramics. West 44th Street, New York, N.Y. 10036
Ceramics Monthly. 1609 Northwest Blvd., Columbus, OH 43212
Ceramic Review. Freepost, 25 London, England 14688
Studio Potter. Box 70, Goffstown, NH 03045.
Pottery Making Illustrated. 600 N. Cleveland Ave., Suite 210, Wester4ville, OH 43082
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* CD-Rom Disk: The Pottery of Mata Ortiz, found at the Reserve Desk. Video that covers collecting
clay, processing the clay, making the pot, burnishing the pot, painting the pot and the firing process.
Gallery material is available to review the various styles.
*Items with asterisk are on reserve at WNMU library.
Course Instructional Objectives: The students will learn a basic general knowledge of ceramics,
preparing them for further study or as informed consumers. Students will learn the origin of clay and
three general types of clay. This will include the similarities and differences between high-fired and lowfired clay wares. The students will learn the five stages of clay, name the parts of the typical pot, describe
a minimum of five decorating techniques, describe the simple types and ingredients of glazes and learn
how they differ from clay body ingredients and tell how clay is mixed. The students will learn the
difference between updraft and downdraft kilns, and the two types of kiln atmospheres, oxidation and
reduction. The student will learn a little bit about the native traditions of Acoma, San Ildefonso, Santa
Clara, Cochiti, Santa Domingo, Indian pueblos and their pottery, and contrast these with Mata Ortiz in
Mexico. The students will learn clay terms (the language of clay) and will identify and research at least
four contemporary clay artists.
Course Outcomes or Competencies: The student will be assigned projects (pinch pots, enclosed forms,
coiled pots, slab pots, compression pots, etc.) and through the processes gain a greater understanding and
appreciation for the professional potter, the trials and tribulations associated with the creative, aesthetic
and productive processes of clay.
Students will compare art forms, modes of thought and expression, and processes across a range of
historical periods and/or structures (such as political, geographic, economic, social, cultural, religious, and
intellectual).
Students will recognize and articulate the diversity of human experience across a range of historical
periods and/or cultural perspectives.
Students will draw on historical and/or cultural perspectives to evaluate any or all of the following:
contemporary problems/issues, contemporary modes of expression, and contemporary thought.
After completing all projects assigned with this course, the student will be able to:
1. Identify at least 70 % of the following terms:
Sgraffito
Engobe
Vitreous
Non-pot
Form
Kaolin
Plasticity
Stoneware
Grog
Wedging
Terra cotta
Clay body
Slake
Raking
Weathering
Short
Damp room
Maturity
Cones
Dry-foot
Single fired
Stilts
Long
Greenware
Foot
Gas Kiln
Kiln
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Porosity
Slip clay
Bentonite
Ball clay
Oxidation
Reduction
Crazing
Flux
Silica
Glaze
Mishima
Burnished
English technique
Shard
Ware
Combing
Wax resist
Dry
Leather hard
Oxide wash
Dung firing
Terra sigillata
San Ildefonso
Santa Clara
Cochiti
Bat
Porcelain
Residual clay
Sedimentary clay
Primary clay
Secondary clay
Belly
Decant
Glaze fire
Furniture
Slip
Pyrometer
Lotus technique
Stoneware
Marbling
Incised
Gloss
Bloat
Wet
Raku
Slip trailing
Salt Firing
Low Fire
Press mold
Mata Ortiz
Santa Domingo
Relief
Score
Blunge
Pots
Potting
Warp
Physical water
Chemical water
Throwing
Cut and throw
Plaster bat
Ram’s head
Refractory
Shrinkage
Wedge
Sprigging
Matt
Oxides
Sawdust fire
Oriental technique
Glaze trailing
High Fire
Vitreous
Hump mold
Acoma
Bisque
2. Below is a list of clay artists. The student is asked to pick and research at least one of the
artists listed and to write a research paper on that artist. Give reasons for your choice.
Dan Anderson
Tom Coleman
Robin Hopper
Joy Brown
Akio Takamuri
Josh DeWeese
Bernard Leach
Rudy Autio
David Shaner
Lucy Lewis
Nicolas Quezada
Beatrice Wood
John Glick
Mary Frank
Chris Gustin
Arnie Zimmerman
Claude Conover
Clary Illian
Blair Meerfeld
John Gill
Paul Soldner
Maria Martinez
Toshiko Takaezu
Joseph Lonewolf
Macario & Nena Ortiz
Don Reitz
Jun Kaneko
Patty Warashina
Peg Malloy
Michael Wisner
Don Davis
Ron Myers
B.A. McBride
Ben Owen, III
Shoji Hamada
Rich Dillingham
Helen Cordero
Juan Quezada
Peter Voulkos
Ken Ferguson
Jack Troy
Marilyn Levine
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Robert Arneson
Michael Cardew
John Mason
Ruth Duckworth
Richard Notkin
George Timock
M.C. Richards
Betty Woodman
Ralph Bacerra
Stanley Anderson
Phillip Cornelius
Richard Shaw
Ron Nagel
Karen Karnes
Stephen de Stabler
Robert Winokur
Joe Zeller
Frank Boyden
Daniel Rhodes
Robert Turner
Wayne Higby
Chris Gumm
Fred Bauer
Warren MacKenzie
Val Cushing
William Daley
Victor Babu
Sandra Simon
Tony Hepburn
Ben Owen
Viola Frey
Charles Hindes
Craig Martell
3. Describe the origin of clay and the two general types of clay. Be able to contrast and
compare these differences, especially in relation to origin.
4. List the five stages of a typical clay pot (object). What stages will the clay object
pass through from the beginning to the end of the clay process?
5. Name the five parts of the pot.
6. Describe the commercial process of slip casting and jiggering. (Must look up)
7. Describe five different techniques of decoration. (Tom Shaffer Video)
8. Describe the simple breakdown of a glaze and its major ingredients. Compare this
with a simple breakdown of a clay body and its major ingredients.
9. Describe at least one technique one might use at home to mix clay.
10. Describe the similarities and differences between the updraft and the downdraft kilns.
Special Needs Students: Students with disabilities in need of accommodation should register with the
Special Needs Office at the beginning of the semester. With student permission, that office will notify
instructors of any special equipment or services a student requires.
Communication Policy Statement regarding official email: WNMU’s policy requires that all official
communication be sent via Mustang Express. As a result, all emails related to your enrollment at WNMU
and class communication – including changes in assignments and grades – will be sent to your wnmu.edu
email address. It is very important that you access your Mustang Express e-mail periodically to check for
correspondence from the University. If you receive most of your email at a different address you can
forward your messages from Mustang Express to your other address.
Example: Martin Class member was assigned a WNMU email address of classmemberm12@wnmu.edu
but Martin would rather receive his emails at his home email address of martinclass@yahoo.com .
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Martin would follow the direction provided at:
http://www.wnmu.edu/campusdocs/direction%20for%20forwarding%20email.htm
WNMU Policy on Email Passwords: WNMU requires that passwords for access to all of the protected
software, programs, and applications will be robust, including complexity in the number of characters
required, the combination of characters required, and the frequency in which passwords are required to be
changed. Minimum complexity shall include:
 Passwords shall contain at least six (6) characters.
 Passwords shall contain at least one capital (upper case) letter, and at least one symbol (numbers
and characters such as @ # $ % & *).
 Passwords shall be changed at least every 90 days. (8/6/08).
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: Each student shall observe standards of honesty and integrity in academic
work completed at WNMU. Students may be penalized for violations of the Academic Integrity policy.
Please refer to pages 60, 61 and 62 of the 2009-2010 Catalog. Violations of academic integrity include
“any behavior that misrepresents or falsifies a student’s knowledge, skills or ability with the goal of
unjustified or illegitimate evaluation or gain.” General violations of academic integrity include cheating
and plagiarism. The definitions for plagiarism and cheating along with penalties for infractions will be
posted on bulletin boards in the clay studio.
INCLIMATE WEATHER: Inclement weather procedures will be discussed in class and a copy of the
University’s procedures will be posted on the bulletin board in the clay studio.
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Assessment/Evaluation and Grading System: Lab grades (the hands on experience) will be
generated by an evaluation of each project. Each project assigned will be graded on a scale of 1
to 20, with 10 being the average. In-class critiques will help the student evaluate his/her work
progress. Composition and design qualities will support the visual aspects and craftsmanship will
support physical qualities and personal efforts. The grades from projects done will be averaged
with grades from tests given. The lecture grade will be generated by the administration of three
to five quizzes, including a lab final. Total score will determine student’s grade. Attendance and
student’s willingness to clean his or her work area and to clean the bottoms of pots for firing will
also be considered in grading. All work will be graded for craftsmanship, design and
composition.
Assignments/Due Dates:
Quizzes, written assignments, and project assignments due dates will be listed on the course calendar/ or
when verbally assigned.
Other Expectations:
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Attendance is mandatory, and one is expected to spend three hours per week outside of
class time to complete all of the assigned projects.
No quiz may be made up without permission or a doctor’s excuse. Your obligation is to
keep me informed.
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Students needing to make up a quiz need to do so within one week or otherwise an F will
be the given grade.
You must drop the course; the instructor will not drop the course for you.
The last day to make projects will be listed in class calendar.
If you cannot make it to class, especially on a quiz day, you must call in and make
other arrangements or accept a zero.
Students who abuse attendance rules; by being absent or showing up late for class, or
leaving early will be dropped from the class.
If you must drop your courses or exit the university, please be aware that there is a proper
procedure to follow. You don’t want to jeopardize your educational future a Western or
another institution of higher education because you did not withdraw properly.
Equipment/Materials:
The course lab fee of $30.00 will provide all the clay you need, plus glazes, firing expenses and
other random materials you may need or use. Tools listed below need to be purchased by the student.
Clay is purchased through your lab fee, which you paid at registration.
Tools (available at the WNMU Bookstore and L & I Eclectic Art Supplies)
Fettling knife, kitchen knife, or any knife suitable for clay
Cut-off Wire*
Rubber Kidney
Wooden Rib*
Sponges:
A. Elephant Ear Sponge
B. Rock Wool Sponge
C. Thin Foam
D. Small round sponge*
Needle Tool*
Trimming Tool*
Wire Loop Tool*
Bamboo Brush
Personal Towel
Padlock
* Item found in the kits available at supply stores named above.
These tools are a must for every student. Each student who takes a class must have his/her own
tools and equipment.
All work must be glazed and picked up by the end of the semester or the work will be thrown out.
We do not have the appropriate space for storage.
Pots need to have your name, initial or a stamped design on the bottom or it will not be fired.
Please remember that pots are made of clay and are very fragile before they are fired. Care must
be taken when picking up pots. Please do not pick up other people’s pots unless you have to. If you
break someone else’s pot please leave a note explaining what happened and sign it.
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