Unit Plan Visual Arts Grades 4-9
NEH Summer Institute Oaxaca 2011
Dean Stadel and Kathleen Kowalczyk
Description
This unit will focus on the history of clay and ceramics in Mexico to present day with emphasis
on pottery of Oaxaca. The theme of the unit will be animal motifs and functional animal forms
with additional design elements included such as the friezes of Mitla. Students will also be
introduced to the many art forms that are prevalent in Oaxaca such as: textiles and weaving,
woodcarving, and tin work. Art and artifacts from Oaxaca will be shown which include animal
motifs and forms. Photographs of the ceramic animal forms, vessels and whistles, from the
Rufino Tamayo Museum in Oaxaca will serve as historical examples. The pottery of Teodora
Blanco Nunez and her son, Luis Garcia Blanco will be used to demonstrate “pastillaje”
decoration which is now included on some Mexican pottery, mostly terra cotta. According to
Mexican Folk Art From Oaxacan Families by Arden Aibel Rothstein and Anya Leah Rothstien,”
pastillaje” is a type of decoration pioneered by Teodora Blanco Nunez which is done by
superimposing smaller pieces of clay on the surface of the figure creating patterns or added
elements to the original form.
Objectives:
Students will be able to locate Mesoamerica, Mexico, and Oaxaca on a map.
Students will be identify, compare, and contrast several Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican artworks
which include animal motifs and forms with present day Mesoamerican artworks.
Students will design and create a ceramic animal form whistle.
Students will design, plan, and create a functional ceramic form using slab, pinch, coil, or a
combination of techniques.
Student will be able to identify and create a quality wall, foot, and rim on a clay vessel.
Student will know and understand vocabulary, safety precautions, and tools related to hand built
ceramics.
Student will define, identify, and create a frieze design.
Student will be able to identify and create pastillaje decoration.
Students will be able to be able to produce a hand-built vessel functional vessel that meets the
following criteria:
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Control of media--demonstrates good craftsmanship
Designed with specific function in mind.
Emphasizes good design--unity, rhythm, form, and balance.
Frieze design enhances form.
Key Ideas/Driving Questions:
Why do the older generations of Oaxacan artists believe it is important to pass on the artistic
techniques and traditions to their sons and daughters?
Why are the frieze designs prominently displayed on the ancient buildings, and on modern
artwork?
What properties of clay might be appealing to an artist?
How does the function of the vessel effect the decisions made during design and creation
process?
Activities/Lessons
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4th Grade coil pot with Pastillaje
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5th Grade create clay whistle
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9th Grade functional vessel based on animal form with frieze inspired surface
decoration
Vocabulary:
Additive Sculpture- material is “added” in various ways by using tools or hands.
Archaeologist- A person trained in the knowledge and methods of archaeology. A professional
archaeologist usually holds a degree in anthropology with a specialization in archaeology and is trained to
collect archaeological information in a scientific way.
Clay Body - A mixture of different types of clays and minerals for a specific ceramic purpose.
Effigy - A representation or image of a person or animal, as in a three-dimensional carving, molding, or
sculpture.
Firing: heating the clay to make it permanent.
Frieze/Grecas- Carefully cut and laid stones create patterns they are stepped fret pattern reliefs.
Glaze Firing- Typically the second firing of a piece pottery which has been coated with glass forming
materials. The approximate temperature of this firing 2300.
Green ware - Unfired pottery that is bone-dry, a state in which clay forms are the most fragile.
Indigenous- Native to a region or place. When specifically used to describe people, "Indigenous" is an
anthropological term referring generally to the Native people of an area, in contrast to invading or
colonizing peoples.
Kiln - Enclosed containers of various sizes- built of refractor brick and heated by electricity, gas, oil, or
wood to temperatures from 1500 F. to 2340 F. in which pots are fired.
Leather hard - Clay which is dried sufficiently to be stiff, but which is still damp enough to be joined to
other pieces.
Mesoamerica: The region consisting of central and southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador,
and the western parts of Honduras and Nicaragua that was the focus of complex, hierarchical states at the
time of Spanish contact. The people of this area shared a basic set of cultural conventions, also called
Middle America.
Oaxaca- estado (state), southern Mexico. It is bounded by the states of Puebla and Veracruz to the north
and Chiapas to the east, by the Pacific Ocean to the south, and by the state of Guerrero to the west. The
city of Oaxaca (Oaxaca de Juárez) is the state capital.
Pastillaje- is a type of decoration pioneered by Teodora Blanco Nunez which is done by superimposing
smaller pieces of clay on the surface of the figure creating patterns or added elements to the original form.
Plasticity - The property of a material enabling it to be shaped and to hold its form.
Score: to make marks on the clay to attach two pieces
Sgraffito - This comes the Italian word meaning "scratched through" and is done by incising or cutting a
design through a colored slip coating to reveal the clay body.
Slab: a flat, rolled out piece of clay
Slurry or slip - A clay body of a creamy consistency used for joining moist clay bodies.
Slip Clay - a clay containing sufficient fluxes to function as a glaze with little or no additions it is a fine,
liquid form of clay applied to the surface of a vessel prior to firing. Slip fills in pores and gives uniform
color.
Subtractive Sculpture: material is “taken away” by using a tool.
Wedging - Method of kneading clay to make it homogenous; ridding the clay of all air pockets.
Two Types of Clay
Earthenware - A low-fire clay. Porous and not waterproof. To be functional, It must be
glazed.
Terra cotta - A brownish-orange earthenware clay body commonly used for ceramic
sculpture.
Three Hand Building Techniques
Coiled Pottery - One of the oldest ways of forming pottery. Long strands of clay which are
laid on top of each other and joined through blending coil to coil. Coil pieces can be almost any
shape or size.
Pinch Pots - Starting with a ball of clay the potter opens a hole into the ball and forms a
bowl shape through a combination of turning and pinching the clay.
Slab Built - Clay slabs are cut to shape and joined together using scoring and wet clay called
slip. Slabs can be draped over or into forms, rolled around cylinders or built up into geometric
forms. Large forms are difficult because of stresses on the seams and because the slab
naturally sags. Some potters get around this by working fibers into the clay body. The fibers burn out
during the firing, leaving a network of tiny holes.
Stages of Clay
Green ware: any clayware which has not been bisque fired
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Plastic: clay which is easily manipulated without sagging or cracking
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Leather hard: the state of clay when most of the moisture has left but the clay is still plastic
enough to be joined or carved.
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Bone dry: clay which contains no moisture. Bone dry ware is ready for firing.
Bisque ware - Unglazed clay, fired at a low temperature. Bisque Firing is the process of firing unglazed
clay to a low temperature to harden the clay and drive the physical water from it. The approximate
temperature of this firing is 1815 F.
Glaze ware: clay which has been bisque fired and re-fired after applying glaze.
Background Information
Oaxaca
Two-thirds of the state’s relief is mountainous. The well-watered spurs and foothills of the Sierra Madre
del Sur descend in the south to a narrow Pacific coastal plain and in the east to the low Isthmus of
Tehuantepec. Parts of the northern border with Veracruz are extensions of the hot and humid Gulf of
Mexico (Atlantic) lowlands.
Oaxaca is one of Mexico’s most ethnically diverse states, with a large concentration of indigenous groups
who are chiefly engaged in subsistence farming. Some two-fifths of state residents speak indigenous
languages, notably Zapotec, Mixtec, Mazatec, Chinantec, and Mixé.
Although the rail network is incomplete in Oaxaca, air connections are good, and the Pan-American
Highway traverses the state. Less than half the population lives in urban areas, including the capital and
the much smaller cities of Juchitán (Juchitán de Zaragoza), San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec, and Salina Cruz,
a port city.
In ancient times Oaxaca was inhabited by more than a dozen indigenous groups, most notably the Zapotec
and Mixtec cultures. The Zapotec established a political and cultural centre at Monte Albán, near the
present-day city of Oaxaca, about the 1st century bc. Monte Albán reached its zenith between ad 300 and
900, after which Zapotec influence began to decline in the face of Mixtec encroachment. The Mixtec had
conquered the entire region by about the 13th century. After the fall of Mexico to the conquistador
Hernán Cortés in 1521, Oaxaca was under Spanish rule for 300 years. Oaxaca became a state in 1824.
The capital is the site of the state’s main cultural institutions, including the Benito Juárez Autonomous
University of Oaxaca and the Regional Museum of Oaxaca,which exhibits the renowned preconquest
treasures from Tomb No. 7 at Monte Albán. In 1987 the colonial centre of Oaxaca city and the Monte
Albán archaeological zone were collectively designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. Mitla is another
monumental ruined city. Area 36,275 square miles (93,952 square km). Pop. (2000) 3,438,765; (2005)
3,506,821
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/423553/Oaxaca
Zapotec Society
For over a thousand years, Zapotec society thrived in the Valley of Oaxaca in Mexico. Their capital city,
located high on a hilltop above the valley, was Monte Albán. On the hilltop's highest point stood visible
evidence of Monte Albán's grandeur—a large plaza bordered by buildings of monumental size. Below the
plaza, households of ordinary citizens dotted terraces along the sides of the hill.
http://archive.fieldmuseum.org/ancientamericas/rulers_30.asp
Pottery Manufacturing
Ceramics were an important product in Zapotec society. Within the ruins of ancient houses,
archaeologists find clues to manufacturing processes that took place in most Zapotec households. Using
technology somewhat similar to a "potter's wheel," Zapotec potters shaped their pots using a ceramic plate
or molde balanced on an upturned pot. This allowed the potter to slowly turn the pot as she shaped it.
Most pottery probably was made inside a home's courtyard.
For firing ceramics, Zapotec potters built "pit kilns" in their back yards. To create these kilns, potters dug
holes outside their homes, placed the unfired ceramics in these holes, started a fire, then covered the pits
with a mixture of mud and vegetation. The pots would harden during the firing process and be removed
when cool.
Ceramics in Ancient Mexico to Present
The word “ceramics” comes from the Greek Keramos. This refers to the clay used in ceramics. The
highly prized raw material and knowledge of techniques was considered gifts from gods. From
generation to generation the valuable knowledge to find proper soils, modeling, firing, and painting were
a treasure cherished by families and guilds. The pottery made was used in all areas of life. They included
bowls, plates, incense burners, flutes, and whistles. When a person died, these objects were placed in the
tomb, as well as, ceramic images of gods to give thanks and prayers to all that had been given to them.
These pieces were clay figures or vessels and have been found in all sites in Mesoamerica. The first ones
date to around 2500 B.C. The traditions of potters in Mexico, the “art of the people” continues to the
present.
Clays used by pottery artists usually come from nearby but are sometimes also imported. The colors
range from cream, gray, black, orange, leaden or yellowish and these colors can help identify where the
piece of pottery came from. To enhance the substance of the clay and help to prevent shrinking during
firing minerals are sometimes added such as: volcanic rock or volcanic powder, quartz, calcite, and mica.
Plant materials like seeds and fibers are added and sometimes ground shells from animals.
In the middle of the Classic period, molds were sometimes used in parts of Mesoamerica but the most
wide spread use was hand modeling. Once the clay object was formed different ways were used to
elaborate its decoration and also give meaning. Incisions were made in it (subtractive sculpture) and
different forms were attached (additive sculpture.) Sometimes it was stamped, engraved or fresco painted
before firing the piece. Geometric, human, plant and animal signs and forms were the main
characteristics found in the art of Mexican ceramics.
Segota, Durdica, Ceramics in Ancient Mexico On the Table, In Tombs, and Temples, Arqueologia,
Mexicana, Edicion Especial 17, Sept., 2004, pgs., 88-90.
Handling of Clay in Pre-Hispanic Mexico
Ceramics were produced by the majority of cultures and have been a valuable source of information to
collect data that helps to understand the past. Fired clay studied from the past show technological
contributions and uses and customs in which clay objects played a central role.
Utensils such as bowls were thin and had an opening permitting open air to circulate over the entire
surface when firing. Figures were thicker and would often crack or burst when fired. Perforations were
made in order to allow the hot air to circulate on the inside and the outside of the piece. Some molds
were used to ease production such as the human figures from Teotihucan in which the head was molded
and manually attached to the body.
Three basic forms that are used to begin working clay: a ball, a slab, or a coil. Appliqué is done by
adding small pieces to a basic shape for details or adornment.
Clay is transformed into personal adornment, representation and music. Hollowed out openwork ear
spools were made. Several cultures also made pieces with movable parts and figures with wheels.
Musical instruments were made from fired clay such as ocarinas or whistles, simple flutes. Double flutes,
rattles and drums.
Architectural knowledge and engineering with producers of fired clay made it possible to build houses
with bricks. Fired clay was used in large almenas (flat roof ornaments) topping some constructions.
Given the need to create larger scale pieces, composed of a single piece larger than a meter techniques
were developed to fire them. Dovetailing pieces so that the parts be kept in one place may be seen in the
life-size sculptures recovered in the Great Temple in Mexico City.
Buenbrostro, Marco, The Handling of Clay in Pre-Hispanic Mexico,
Arqueologia, Mexicana, Edicion Especial 17, Sept., 2004, pgs., 90-92.
4th Grade Lesson
Create a coil pot with added pastillaje decoration.
Pastillaje: is a type of decoration pioneered by Teodora Blanco Nunez which is done by superimposing
smaller pieces of clay on the surface of the figure creating patterns or added elements to the original form.
Objectives:
Create a clay vessel and add realistic or imaginary decorative animal or
plant features.
Pottery is probably the most popular Mexican folk art, and one of the
most ancient. Pottery is found throughout the country, in many different
styles and forms. Mexican pottery was traditionally made by hand,
using coils or molds. Called earthenware, this clay was fired at low
temperatures. Before the Spanish came to Mexico, the firing took place
in bonfires. Mineral glazes, the potter's wheel and open top kilns were
introduced by the Spanish and are sometimes used today. Common
everyday pottery (la loza corriente) is simply decorated. It comes in a
range of shapes and sizes. Most of this pottery is used to hold food or
liquids. The more decorative pottery is often used for ceremonies or
household decoration. Pots are decorated with slips(layers of liquid
clay), paints, and glazes. Animal and human figurines are often made
for sale. Villages often specialize in making certain types of pottery. In
many areas of the country, women might make the common ware and
menthe decorative. In some villages the entire family will work together
to make a certain type of pottery. Pottery, like all other Mexican crafts,
has changed in the last 100 years. Traditional pottery is still made, but
now usually for sale.
http://hearstmuseum.berkeley.edu/outreach/pdfs/mexican_folk_art.pdf.
View and read on overhead projector pages 1-20 (Paragraph above page 17)
Biographical Information
Teodora Blanco, one of the most creative and vital folk
artists in Mexico, died in 1981, leaving behind a history
of unique inventions that set her apart from other potters
in Santa Maria Atzompa. Her parents were successful
farmers. Although they were also traditional potters, it
was not necessary to push Teodora into commercial
pottery. As a child she visited archeological museums in
Oaxaca and was inspired by animal and figural ceramics.
Her innovations began as a teenager, when she formed
http://hearstmuseum.berkeley.edu/exh
animal musicians. She then started attaching wings and
ibitions/mexico2/gallery3_5.html
tails to pitchers whose spouts became animal heads. If
she was working on a traditional shape, she would always add animal appendages. In her late 20s
her legendary figures of women. Her figures constantly evolved and changed. As she
experimented with various combinations of women, animals, and mythical creatures. Beasts
poked out of abdomens, and animals and babies tugged at shoulder and skirts. Teodora's impulse
for surface adornment was intense, and by the late 1970's her figures were covered with
appliquéd coils, animals emerging from the bodies, and arms typically engaged in holding or
carrying children, animals, or market baskets. In spite of all this sculptural abandon, her women
are always dignified and elegant. For Teodora, the only reason to live was to make pottery.
Famed collector Nelson Rockefeller was truly captivated by her artistic energy, humor, and
dedication to her personal vision. His collection now resides at the San Antonio Museum of Art
and the Mexican Museum in San Francisco.* Her children, Irma and Luis, continue her tradition
as does her grandson Luis. Her signature style is of fired, unglazed earthenware with baroque
surface decoration.
*From Folk Treasures of Mexico: The Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection by Marion Oettinger, Jr.
©1990; ISBN:0-8109-1182-5
Students will create a coil pot and smooth the interior and exterior walls.
http://www.ceramicstoday.com/articles/potters_wheel.htm
Read Coiling Pots The Origins of the Potter's Wheel by Victor Bryant
http://artswork.asu.edu/arts/students/navajo/lesson4.htm
Read and demonstrate ACTIVITY THREE: MAKING A COIL POT (above URL)
Tell students that families in Mexico work on some pottery making together. The adults will usually
make the vessels and the children, starting as young as 6 or 7 years old, will model the clay into small
decorative pieces to be added to the vessels. Students will score the vessel and modeled pieces and
add slip to the areas where they attach their modeled decorative pieces.
5th Grade Lesson
Create an animal form clay whistle
Photo by Dean Stadel
Background Information
Whistles and ocarinas are quite possibly the most widely-known and popular ceramic instrument
of all time, with traditions in virtually all parts of the world. They have been made since
prehistoric times, from a variety of materials. Ancient clay whistles have been found throughout
Europe, and in India, Egypt and China as well. Although the “ocarina” was coined in nineteenth
century Italy, the instrument itself has a much longer history.
Early inhabitants of Mesoamerica and South America were prolific whistle and ocarina makers
for a period of several thousand years. The variety and creativity of their globular flutes is
remarkable and unparalleled. Ocarinas in pre-Columbian America were usually highly decorated
and often depicted human figures and animals.
http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/index.php?one=azt&two=mus&id=248&typ=reg
View Powerpoint of Pre-Colombian animal forms from the Rufino Taymayo Museum, Oaxaca,
Mexico. Power Point photos by Dean Stadel
http://hearstmuseum.berkeley.edu/outreach/pdfs/mexican_folk_art.pdf.
View and read on overhead projector pages 1-20
View and demonstrate Power Point whistle making sequence by Chris Henley.
9th Grade
Animal Form Functional Ceramic Vessel
Frieze Inspired Surface Decoration
Procedure:
Present Background Information
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Oaxaca
Zapotec Society
Handling of Clay in Pre-Hispanic Mexico
Ceramics in Ancient Mexico to Present
Pottery Manufacturing
Show and discuss FOFA Video Friends of Oaxaca Folk Art – Nurturing Young Artists
http://salvadorpantoja.com/client_view/FoFA/FOFA-HIGH-011010-DEINT.mov
Present the PowerPoint of the Rafino Tomyo collection of animal form functional pottery explaining
meaning and use.
Present the PowerPoint of frieze designs from Oaxaca
Students will use thumbnail and rough draft sketches to create a vessel design based on research from
resources, personal interests, and experiences.
Students will create a unique frieze design that will enhance the surface of the vessel
Present the Power point entitled handbuilt pottery process San Marcos Tlapazola
Demonstrate three hand building techniques students determine which technique they will use.
Students will work individually with teacher assistance to create the animal vessel.
Students will use appliqué and/or sgraffito techniques to apply the frieze design to the vessel.
Once complete the vessel will dry slowly and be bisque fired.
Student and instructor evaluations based on the rubric and written critique.
Materials:
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Clay--approximately 5 lbs
Boards 12”x12” wood or plaster bat
Plastic bags,
Rolling Pins
Clay Slip
Brushes
Contrasting colored slip
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Scoring and Modeling Tools
Small containers for water and slip
Assessment:
Student is able to:
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Describe the coil pot building process and apply this understanding to creating an actual coil pot.
Demonstrate good craftsmanship through the final appearance and construction of the pot
Create personal symbols and unified design with sgraffito decorating technique.
Assessment Rubric
Student Name:
Class Period:
Assignment: Traditional Coil Vessel - Sgraffito decoration.
Date Completed:
Circle the number in
pencil that demostrates
how well you completed
each criterion for the
assignment.
Criteria 1 – Sketches
showing use of elements
and principles of designmotifs/symbolism
planned and researched
Criteria 2 – Traditional
coil vessel - symmetry functional form - smooth
surface.
Criteria 3 – Symbolism
and motifs enhance form
- clearly etched in surface
- slip evenly applied.
Criteria 4 – Effort: took
time to develop idea &
complete project? (Didn’t
rush.) Good use of class
time?
Criteria 5 –
Craftsmanship – Neat,
clean & complete?
Skillful use of the art
tools & media?
Excellent Good Average
Needs
Improvement
Other
10
9
7-8
6
0-5
10
9
7-8
6
0-5
10
9
7-8
6
0-5
10
9
7-8
6
0-5
10
9
7-8
6
0-5
Total Possible: 100 points (Average score x 10)
Rate
Yourself
Teacher’s
Rating
YOUR
TOTAL
Grade
List of Resources:
Websites:
http://salvadorpantoja.com/client_view/FoFA/FOFA-HIGH-011010-DEINT.mov
http://hearstmuseum.berkeley.edu/outreach/pdfs/mexican_folk_art.pdf
http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/animal-plan1.htm
http://en.amigosprecolombino.es/collection
http://www.barakatgallery.com/Store/Index.cfm?FuseAction=AuctionHall&UserID=0&CategoryID=31
http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/high/Justin-coil.htm
http://www.mexicanceramic.com/aboutceramics.htm
http://archive.fieldmuseum.org/ancientamericas/educational_glossary.asp#AB
http://fieldmuseum.academia.edu/GaryFeinman/Papers/365823/Ceramic_Production_and_Distribution_in
_Late_Postclassic_Oaxaca_Stylistic_and_Petrographic_Perspectives_1992_
http://research.amnh.org/anthropology/research/mca/projects/oaxaca
http://hominid.net/donna-goyer-whistle_making_sequence.htm
http://oaxaca.wikispaces.com/teotitlanweavers
http://en.amigosprecolombino.es/collection
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Br7t2k5fKnQ
http://salvadorpantoja.com/client_view/FoFA/FOFA-HIGH-011010-DEINT.mov
http://www.ceramicstoday.com/articles/potters_wheel.htm
http://www.ourmexico.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=88&catid=34:travel&Item
id=81
Books:
Mexican Folk Arts from Oaxacan Artist Families, Arden Rothstein and Anya Leah Rothstein, Schiffer
Publishing, Atglen, PA, 2007, Pgs. 15-22.
Oaxacan Ceramics Traditional Folk Art by Oaxacan Women, Lois Wasserspring, Chronicle Books, San
Francisco, CA 2000, Pgs. 74-77.
Arts and Crafts of Mexico, Chloe Sayer, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA, 1990, Pgs. 65-79.A Glance
At: The History of Mexican Ceramics
Periodicals:
Buenbrostro, Marco, The Handling of Clay in Pre-Hispanic Mexico,
Arqueologia, Mexicana, Edicion Especial 17, Sept., 2004, pgs., 88-92.