Containers Teacher Notes
Teaching objectives for the tour
Background discussion
Other artists inspired by containers
Cross-curricular & QCA links
General Techniques
Making containers
Decorating containers
Classroom activities based on selections of objects in the tour
Animal shapes– make a container based on an animal, either real or imaginary
Holding memories–a striking class display using memory boxes
Weaving magic– weave a bag and learn how to create weaving patterns
Be a potter– clay pots: coiling, moulding, stamping, decorating
Face it– container designs using a class ‘face bank’
Telling a story– on a container using pictures or writing
Teaching objectives
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To explore the use of different materials and media to create their own
containers
To consider the production of containers from ancient history to the present
day
To work individually, in small groups and as a whole class
To be able to describe, compare and contrast the form, function, purpose and
decoration of a variety of containers from different cultures and periods.
Background discussion
In the classroom, introduce the concept of containers. You could do this by
brainstorming different kinds of containers eg:
Vessel, box, tin, bowl, jug, flagon, bag, sack, case, basket, urn, coffin, chest, crate,
trunk, holdall..
And other words to do with containers eg:
(verbs) pour, move, tilt, carry, spill
(adjectives) portable, capacious, minuscule
Using the Tour, explore these questions.
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Different containers are designed for different purposes; ask pupils to match
the images in the Tour to their purpose.
Who would use them?
What shape/form do they take?
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How have they been decorated? Why have these designs been chosen?
What materials are they made of and why? What do these tell us about their
society?
What does each container tell you about the owner (issues of wealth and
status)?
Think about the containers you use every day: what do they look like and how
do you use them?
Artists
A small selection of artists to get you thinking creatively about containers.
Richard Deacon b. 1949 (sculptor)
Struck Dumb 1988 Welded steel (Tate Modern)
Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964) (painter)
Painted still lives of interesting ceramic containers e.g.
http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=10277&sear
chid=8979
The above artists and more can be found via the link to the Tate – go to Artists A-Z
www.tate.org.uk/servlet/BrowseGroup?cgroupid=999999956
Grayson Perry (Turner Prize Winner, 2003). Puts designs with a modern message
on to
traditional ceramics vases:
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/turnerprize/2003/perry.htm
Bernard Leach (1897-1979) (potter)
www.ceramicstoday.com/articles/leach.htm
Cross-curricular projects
DT
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Split the class into designers, production (including materials finders),
advertisers etc
and set them up as a ‘production line’. The aim is to produce a class container
to a brief.
The finished product will have been contributed to by all and can be displayed
prominently in the room.
Research industrial methods for making containers today.
Explore a range of alternative materials for creating a container. Design a new
container
for the 21st century or design a container for taking into space.
Design a container to tidy an area of the classroom.
Literacy
Many containers have changed their use over the years. Have a look at the
Sarcophagus of Nectanebo in Explore which started as a coffin, then became a bath.
The Rillaton Cup started as a royal drinking vessel, and ended up holding George
V’s cufflinks on his dressing table. When new cultures find an object, they often do
not know what its original use was, and so use it for a new purpose.
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Imagine you are one of the ancient containers in the tour (or choose another
one from Explore). Write an imaginary history of your life up to the point that
you arrived in the Museum. You must change function at least four times in
your life.
History
From one section of the tour (e.g. Food Containers) choose two objects and
compare:
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How they were used
When they were used (e.g. for special occasions or everyday?)
Who they would have been used by
How they were made
How do your answers to the above reflect the culture and date that each object is
from?
Numeracy
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Geometric patterns – design your own; look at tessellation
Capacity and volume – estimate and measure the capacity of various
containers
Shape and space- design and make your own nets of boxes and make 3D
shapes to decorate and hang around the classroom.
Citizenship
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PHSE
Recycling bins - design a new bin to have around the school/local community
to encourage recycling. Think about creating an eye catching design that will
make people see the importance of recycling.
Rubbish - list all the containers that you throw away on a regular basis.
Collect one day’s worth of container rubbish and bring it into school for the
children to see. Mention the growing problems of increased landfill. What are
the alternatives to this?
o Research how this can be tackled, starting by looking at the materials
that the containers are made of.
o Make a new container by recycling used ones from rubbish.
o Encourage pupils to reuse containers such as plastic bags, bottles etc,
rather than always taking new ones. How could they persuade others
to do this?
Containing memories project: Create a ‘memory box’ about a person, or even a pet,
which has died or gone away, or about an occasion that they want to particularly
remember. Include pictures, photographs, writing and objects about them. The box
can then be symbolically put away, to look at on an anniversary perhaps, or buried
with a few well-chosen words.
QCA Schemes of Work links
Design and technology at Key Stage 2 (Year 4)
Unit 4A: Money containers
Textiles – designing and making a container – link to ‘Weaving’ activity
Art and design at Key Stage 1 (Year 1/2)
Unit 1C: What is sculpture?
Learning about sculpture made from a range of different materials. Tour images
could be used as a means of discussing different made objects, looking at what they
are made of and how they might be used.
Art and design at Key Stage 2 (Year 5/6)
Unit 5B: Containers
The tour links into projects on making vessels and containers in this scheme of work.
Use it to fuel discussion and sketchbook investigation into vessels and use the
teaching ideas to help design, make and decorate your own container.
Unit 5A: Objects and meanings
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes2/art/art5a/?view=get
Use the objects in the tour to discuss the use of objects in still life. Compare them
with containers in a selection of still lives by famous painters.
General techniques
Making containers
Possible materials: Papier mâché, clay, modroc, card, foil/metal, paper, stone, glass,
fabric..
Card - Can be bent, joined, cut, and built on with modroc, papier mâché or various
collage material. It can also be used to create interesting angular shapes; even the
off cuts can make interesting relief decoration. Experiment with nets of 3D shapes
(how they look when flattened out); make sure flaps are added to join them together.
Modroc – Apply over objects covered in Clingfilm. This is an excellent means of
creating casts of objects - a great starting point for interesting shaped containers.
Fabric - Simple sewing, using hand stitches to join fabric. Alternatively ‘bondaweb’ is
great for quick joining without sewing, just use an iron.
Modelling materials such as clay and plasticine are easy ways of creating and
sculpting a huge array of shapes and ideas.
Wire can be used in its own right or as an armature for modroc or papier mâché
Decorating containers
Different containers allow you to decorate in different ways:
Modelling: as you make your container with a material such as clay or plasticine,
you can carve patterns and shapes into it. You can change your mind and adapt as
you go along.
After it has been made: you can decorate your container with a range of paints,
charcoal and other flat media.
Collage
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You could photocopy images/drawings and glue them onto your papier
mâché/ card container.
You could glue on beads or plastic jewels to enrich your vessel.
Use string and glue to create interesting relief, which could be painted over
when dry or tin foil could be glued on top to give a metal effect.
Glass painting project
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Use the images in the tour to fire your imagination and create a design for a
clear container or jar of your choice. Make a template in paper of your design
checking that the dimensions fit your jar/vessel.
Place the design underneath some clear sticky back plastic or stick inside
your jar/vessel and start by outlining the design with a glass paint outliner.
Infill the areas of colour with glass paint, once outline is dry.
Classroom activities
based on selections of objects in the tour
1. Animal shapes
Links to these objects in tour:
Wooden grease dish with face and flippers – before 1787 AD, Canada
Cosmetic box in the shape of a duck (and fish) – 1500 – 1370 BC, Ur, Mesopotamia
Canopic jars of Neskhons – 1069-945 BC, Egypt
See also in Explore:
Rhyton in the shape of a bull’s head
Discussion points Look through the objects above:
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How do the objects incorporate their animal shape into their design?
Which ones work best and why?
Project idea
Make a container based on an animal, either real or imaginary
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Design a container using any animal/bird/insect that is important to you. It can
be a real or mythical creature.
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Research your chosen animal as fully as possible using a sketchbook to
record ideas. Find out if it has any particular meaning in other cultures.
Decide what kind of container you want your animal to be. Think about your
design and how your creature can fit into this. Try to be as imaginative as
possible.
Research animals used creatively as part of a design, see:
Spouted jug with dragon handle
Griffin head spout
Krater with sheep’s head handles
Can you challenge each other to design a container with a specific body part
performing a specific function, e.g. a beak as a spout, a wing as a lid, a tail as a
handle?
2. Holding memories
Hans Sloane’s specimen tray – 18th century, England
Discussion Points
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Why might Hans Sloane collect such interesting items?
What do you think he did with them?
Have you ever collected interesting items – where did you find them?
What does this tray remind you of?
Now have a look at the work of the artist Joseph Cornell. Much of this consists of
containers displaying various objects, for example:
‘Pharmacy’ http://www.artchive.com/artchive/C/cornell/pharmacy.jpg.html
and some other works in the Guggenheim Museum:
http://www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/artist_works_32_0.html
Also look at the work Boîte-en-valise, or ‘box in a suitcase’ by Marcel Duchamp:
http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/1999/muse/artist_pages/duchamp_boite.html
Project ideas
Make a large class ‘specimen tray’ for display on the wall.
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Each pupil uses a shoebox to collect interesting items such as photos,
cuttings of text, objects such as sweet wrappers; they could be related to a
theme, such as individuality, or interests, and could be titled ‘My Box About
Me’.
Use these items to decorate the inside of the box, giving each one a brief
label. They must beglued in firmly (use PVA Medium) as the boxes need to be
displayed on a wall, next to each other to look like a specimen tray.
Undertake a project with your class where a container is designed to sort out
an area of the classroom, or materials which always seem to be in a muddle
(e.g. an art materials organiser or perhaps a desk pencil tidy).
3. Weaving magic
Links to these objects in tour:
Woven baskets – 19th century, Tierra del Fuego
Salt bag – 19th century, Pakistan
Discussion points (salt bag)
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Why might someone want to carry salt around?
What is the importance of salt to nomadic people and what might they use it
for?
How could a woven bag hold salt? Discuss the properties needed for a saltholding container.
Project idea
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Pupils design and make a simple woven bag. The nomadic people would also
have made their own beads to decorate their bags.
Create a cardboard loom. With an A5 piece of strong card, make 1cm long
incisions along 2 opposite ends, about 1 cm apart. Tie wool to the incision in
one corner, and thread it through the incision at the opposite end, and so on
until you have a loom.
You are now ready to weave - tie your new piece of wool to the bottom corner
and weave the wool in and out of the loom. When you reach the end, weave
back the other way, making sure you go over the loom where you went under
before and so on. If you wish to add a pattern, design this first on graph paper,
in two different colours only, with big, bold designs. You can tie your new
coloured wool to the loom at any time and begin the pattern - using the graph
paper as a rough guide. You can also weave in ribbons and other coloured
fabrics and threads to create a variety of textures.
When you have covered the whole piece of card with weaving (this can take
some time depending on the thickness of the wool), make sure any stray bits
of wool are knotted. You can cut the thread of the loom on the back and knot
each one to make sure the woven piece is secure. Beads and buttons can be
added to the tassels to decorate the ends.
When you have done two pieces of woven fabric, you can sew the two sides
together to make a bag. Plait several long pieces of wool together to create a
strap.
4. Be a potter
Links to these objects in tour:
Water pot with strainer – 19th century, Tunisia
Greek water jar – 520-500 BC, Greece
Canopic jars – 1069-945 BC, Egypt
See also in Explore:
Pottery bowl and wire cover – 20th century, from Africa
Large pottery jar – Bronze Age, from Iran
Discussion points
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Look at the three pots above. How do you think each was made? The water
pot was made on a potter’s wheel – if you look closely you can see horizontal
lines along it. The others were made by simple coiling, an ancient technique
used before the potter’s wheel had been invented.
Compare the decoration on each pot – how do you think these were done? At
what stage of their production process was each pot decorated?
Project idea
Make and decorate a coiled clay pot
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Sketch what pot shape you are going to make - do not make it too
complicated.
Use quick dry or firing-clay if you have a kiln. Roll out long sausages of clay,
approx 2 cm thick.
Coil this in a spiral shape to create a circular base, and then smooth it over.
Build up your remaining coils to create the sides of the pot, adding one coil at
a time and smoothing it, with a few drops of water if necessary, to create a
uniformly smooth pot as you go.
You can add patterns as you go - using stamps or clay tools, or paint or glaze
it at the end, depending on the kind of clay you have.
5. Face it
Links to these objects in tour:
Coffin of Cleopatra – 2nd century AD, Egypt
Face urn – 2nd century AD, Roman Britain
See also in Explore:
Vase with faces – (200BC – AD 600) Nasca, from Peru
Bowl with a gorgon’s head – (625-600 BC) Greek, from Rhodes
Discussion points
Looking at the faces on the above objects:
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Why would someone want to carry salt around?
What is their appearance like? Discuss their clothes/hairstyles etc.
Why have they been put onto these objects?
How do their expressions/appearances fit the purpose of the object?
Project ideas Design a plate with a face on it using a class ‘face bank’
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Sit opposite a partner, watch how their face changes when they are happy,
sad, angry, neutral etc. Try and do simple sketches showing each emotion.
Can you think of more complicated emotions to attempt?
See if you can recreate some of these and your partner guess which one you
are doing.
Choose one of these to depict on a paper plate. Use a variety of media – e.g.
crayons, paints, pastels etc.
Create a class ‘face bank’ for the wall with a range of these plates covering as
many emotions as you can.
Explore the use of the human form as a container:
e.g. Empress pepper-pot
Reliquary of St Eustace
6. Telling a story
Examining the decoration on containers which have been used to tell a story or give
a message.
Links to these objects in tour:
Water-jar with fountain-house scene - 520 - 500 BC, Greece
Water pot with strainer – 19th century, Tunisia
See also in Explore:
Cup showing stories of Theseus
Franks casket
Discussion points
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Have a look at some Greek pots, starting with the fountain-house scene pot in
the tour. What is this trying to tell us? How do other Greek pots tell longer
stories? What do these pots have in common in their designs? Compare
colours, decoration and the use of the human figure.
Now look at the Franks Casket. This uses both writing and pictures to tell a
variety of stories from different cultures, rather like a modern cartoon. Can you
work out any of the stories?
How does the water pot from Tunisia convey a message in a different way?
Can you find other containers in Explore which are decorated with writing?
Project idea
Modroc project: Design your own Greek pot
Retell a well-known ancient or modern story in the style of a Greek potter.
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To create a Greek-style pot out of modroc, decide what you want shape you
want to create and select a balloon from a variety pack of balloons that most
closely matches this. Choose a plastic reused container to use as a stand (e.g.
a yoghurt pot) and cut it down until the inflated balloon fits into it and will stand
alone when attached with masking tape.
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Add handles using other parts of plastic containers, again sticking them to the
balloon with masking tape.
Cut up your modroc into small pieces (it is much easier to do several of these
before you get, your hands wet). Dip your pieces of modroc into water and
wrap around the balloon-pot shape, keeping it smooth until it is completely
covered. You will need about 3 layers.
You can add pattern, such as string, in-between the layers.
It should be left overnight to dry completely.
Your story can be traced onto the pot, and then painted, or tissue paper can
be collaged onto the pot with a thin layer of PVA glue and drawn over in pen
or pencil.
Decorate using the same colours and patterns that the ancient Greeks would
have used.