Semester long Project and Final Exam for Advanced
Art and Ceramics Students
As a final project all advanced art students both in ceramics and in drawing and painting
must create a website with pictures and descriptions.
They will present their site before the class in the final week and explain what they did,
how they did the work and why it’s important. The why will be considered a theme for
the project.
They will write and essay and put it on the site. This is considered the ‘final’ and
accounts for a large part of the student’s grade. There are computers and a camera in the
classroom for students to use. It is expected that they will get help from me or their peers
if they need it.
Instructions for the essay –
Advanced Art/Ceramics Project Essay
Body Paragraph one
The WHAT paragraph is the list of the projects you’re going to show in your project
group. You need to describe the imagery, subject matter and motifs you’ve used.
Remember you need to choose a body of work that will hang together. You need to use
descriptive words and adjectives (concrete details) that will accurately describe the
images you have made. Look in chapter two of the art history book under the section 2.1
Subject Matter.
The HOW paragraph describes you methods – what media are you using and how have
you used it? Look in the book under 2.2 Tools and Materials - or look in Ceramic Magazines
– or in articles and/or books on art. Remember to talk about how the materials you have
chosen enhance your choice of imagery.
In the WHY paragraph you need to explain how your methods and imagery go together
to convey your message to your viewer. Again, just nature, or randomness, is not a
theme. Art, even a simple vase, can speak to the heart, the mind or the guts – or in
some cases even the brain stem (like in the horror genera.) Keep in mind that as the
artist you are in control of the messages in your work – even if you want them to be
ambiguous you have to be clear about how and why you want that. You will need to tie
this up with up with your beliefs, ideas and feelings for it to be meaningful to others –
and more importantly, yourself.