Lesson Plan: Wheel-less Face Jugs

Overview

The Face Jug Tradition of North Carolina Potters have made vessels adorned with human facial features for almost as long as they have been molding clay. Anthropomorphic jugs and other containers have appeared throughout the centuries and in many different cultures. Many of these vessels had functions related to funerals and other rituals, while others served as portraits of their ruling-class owners. Traditional potters in North Carolina began crafting face jugs in the early 1900s to break up the routine of making utilitarian wares. Historians believe that the tradition came from Africa; however, the functions and meanings of the vessels are unclear. The new technology of the early twentieth century brought great changes to social and economic life. Factories began producing many of the items that people had traditionally made by hand. For North Carolina potters who supplemented their farm earnings by producing and selling utilitarian wares, these changes were especially hard. Glass and eventually plastic factories put many potters out of business. Others adapted by making novelty items such as the playful “face jug” for a growing tourist market. During the second quarter of the twentieth century, face jugs slowly attracted the attention of tourists looking for novelty gifts to bring home. Their height of popularity did not begin until the 1970s, however, when Catawba Valley potter Burlon Craig re-popularized the form in response to a renewed interest among his customers. Soon other North Carolina potters began making face jugs as well, so that today they come in all shapes and sizes, and with a wide variety of facial features and expressions.

Age Group

Secondary (grades 6-12)

Standards

NC Essential Standards Addressed: Visual Arts

Visual Literacy

V.1 Use the language of visual arts to communicate effectively. V.3 Create art using a variety of tools, media, and processes, safely and appropriately.

Contextual relevancy

CX.1 Understand the global, historical, societal, and cultural contexts of the visual arts.

Critical Response

CR.1 Use critical analysis to generate responses to a variety of prompts.

Length of Lesson

Five 90-minute sessions

Session 1 - Create design in sketchbook, create clay slab cylinder, and attach bottom. Session 2 - Attach facial features, remove bottle, and begin to coil top. Session 3 - Finish coiling, attach handle, and clean up rough spots.

Drying time will depend on climate of the classroom - typically 1 1/2 to 2 weeks.

Sessions 4 & 5 (after bisque-fire)-glaze works.

Glaze-fire lasts a day and then face jugs are completed. Objectives

Students will be able to:

• Describe and interpret NC face jug art examples using vocabulary specific to ceramics and referencing cultural contexts.

• Create a face jug using pinch, coil, and slab construction methods and incising and applique decorative methods

Vocabulary – Applique: clay modeled directly onto the plastic surface of clay. Incise: carve or engrave a decoration into plastic, unfired clay. Plasticity: the quality of clay that allows it to be easily manipulated and still retain its shape. Utilitarian wares: Pottery vessels that are made to be used.

Lesson sequence

1. Share NC face jug images. Ask students to describe what they see, interpret what they think the object is, and discuss what elements they find.

2. Discuss the face jug traditional in North Carolina and other cultures. 3. Share student face jug images. 4. Create face jugs inspired by NC face jug pottery examples.

Assessment

Discuss rubric at beginning of the project so that students understand the project objectives.

At the end of the project, students will complete rubric as a self-evaluation and critical response exercise.

Jody Stouffer & Brian Wohleben Lee County High School

Angler Fish Tea Pot

Jody Stouffer & Brian Wohleben – Lee County High School

Roll  and  tape  a  piece  of  newspaper  around  a  wine  bo3le.  

Repeat  a  second  5me  for  two  separate  layers  of  newspaper  taped  around  wine  bo3le.  

Use  a  slab  roller,  and  roll  out  a  flat  piece  of  clay  that  is  long  enough  to  wrap  around  the  wine  bo3le.  If  a  slab  roller  is  not  

available,  use  stacked  yard  s5cks  and  a  rolling  pin.  

Use  a  box  or  rectangle  cut  out  of  mat  board,  and  impress  a  rectangular  shape  in  your  clay.  

Use  a  pizza  cu3er  or  other  cuBng  tool,  and  cut  out  the  rectangle.  Save  the  excess  clay  for  later  use  in  the  project.  

Roll  the  clay  around  the  wine  bo3le  to  assure  the  clay  is  long  enough.  If  it  is  too  long,  excess  clay  can  be  cut  off.  

Score  and  slip  both  clay  ends  to  assure  a  good  seal,  and  touch  ends  to  enclose  clay  cylinder.  

Connect  the  two  ends  of  clay  to  create  a  clay  cylinder.  

Use  a  clay  tool  or  your  fingers,  and  smooth  the  clay    connec5on  to  create  a  seamless  clay  cylinder.  

Take  the  excess  clay  from  earlier  in  the  project,  wedge  and  roll  it  out.  This  will  be  used  for  the  bo3om  of  your  face  jug.    

Use  a  needle  tool  or  other  clay  cuBng  tool,  cut  a  circle    around  the  base  of  the  cylinder.  Save  the  excess  clay  to  

be  used  in  construc5on  of  the  face.  

Score  and  slip  the  clay  circle  and  the  bo3om  of  the  cylinder,  and  a3ach    circle  to  create  the  bo3om  of  the  jug.  Blend  the  seam  with  a  clay  tool  or  your  fingers.  A  final  blend  with  a  damp  sponge  should  create  a  smooth  finish.  This  is  a  good  5me  to  have  your  students  put  their  name  on  the  

bo3om  of  their  work.  

You  are  now  ready  to  construct  the  face.  According  to  tradi5onal  face  jug  po3ers,  the  nose  is  the  best  place  to  start.  There  is  no  

right  or  wrong  way  to  make  a  nose.    

Remind  students  to  score  and  slip  all  face  jug  addi5ons  unless  you  use  extremely  moist  clay.  Students  may  use  a  clay  tool  or  their  fingers  to  completely  blend  all  lines.  A  final  blend  with  a  damp  

sponge  will  create  a  smooth  finish.    

Golden Rule to Blending

Completely blend out attachment

lines. You should not be able to tell that facial features

were added on, they should look like they have

always been there.

Use  your  thumbs,  and  create  two  inden5ons  for  the  eye  sockets.  Roll  out  two  clay  balls  for  the  eyes.  Any5me  you  make  pairings,  create  both  at  the  same  5me  

so  they  are  of  similar  size  and  propor5on.  

Score  and  slip  the  eye  balls  into  place.  Roll  out  coils  and  a3ach  to  create  an  upper  and  lower  eye  lid.  In  this  example,  only  an  upper  eye  lid  is  created.  Blend  the  side  of  the  coil  that  touches  the  face.  This  creates  a  more  interes5ng  eye  feature  and  helps  the  eye  balls  

stay  a3ached.  

Use  a  pointed  clay  tool,  and  add  a  dot  in  the  middle  of  the  eye  ball  to  create  a  pupil.  This  helps  to  bring  your  face  jug  to  life.  

Addi5onal  coils  can  be  added  above  the  eyelids  to  create  eye  brows.  Use  a  needle  tool,  and  incise  the  clay  to  create  the  texture  of  hair.  Try  to  incise  in  the  direc5on  that  real  eyebrows  grow.    

Roll  out  coils  for  the  lips.  Insert  the  teeth  before  you  a3ach  the  lips.  

Create  handmade  teeth  or  use  broken  plates  to  give  your  face  jug  a  more  tradi5onal  style.  Tradi5onal  face  jugs  usually  highlight  the  top  row  of  teeth.  Teeth  can  be  pushed  into  place  and  the  lips  will  

hold  them  in.  

A3ach  the  lips,  and  blend  in  the  outside  of  the  lip  to  the  face.  Eliminate  the  seams;  the  face  should  look  to  be  one  piece.  

Some  tradi5onal  face  jugs  have  ears  while  others  do  not.  As  with  the  eyes,  form  both  ears  at  the  same  5me.  

It  is  important  to  leave  the  bo3le  in  to  a3ach  features.  This  provides  support  from  the  inside  of  your  face  jug,  and  prevents  collapse.  Remove  the  bo3le  aNer  all  facial  features  have  been  a3ached.  If  this  segment  of  the  project  goes  beyond      one  class  period,  make  sure  the  face  jug  is  bagged  well.  If  the  clay  starts  to  dry,  the  face  jug  will  shrink  and  removal  of  the  bo3le  will  be  extremely  difficult.  

If  the  face  jug  project  ends  at  this  stage,  add  a  handle  to  the  back  and  create  a  tankard  style  

drinking  vessel.  

Another  possibility:  a  container  for  kitchen  

utensils.  

To  create  a  face  jug,  coil  the  top  of  the  jug  to  achieve  the  desired  form.  As  you  layer  coils,  stagger  the  start/stop  point  of  each  coil  so  it  does  

not  align  with  coil  below  it.  This  will  give  form  be3er  stability.  To  

narrow  the  top  of  your  form,  layer  the  coil  on  inner  half  of  the  

previous  coil  and  blend.  Because  you  will  blend,  you  need  only  score  

and  slip  the  first  coil.  

Blend  coils  with  either  a  clay  tool  or  your  fingers.  Blend  completely  to  eliminate  seam  lines.  Blend  coils  together  

aNer  each  coil  is  added.      

ANer  desired  height  is  reached,  the  final  step  is  to  add  a  handle  on  the  back.    The  handle  can  be  a  rolled  coil  big  enough  for  one  finger  to  fit  through.  Fla3en  one  end  of  the  coil  to  create  a  

“whale  tail”.  

Align  the  handle  opposite  the  face,  and  score  and  slip  the  handle  and  the  jug,  and  blend  in  the  “whale  tail”  part  of  the  handle.  Create  a  loop  for  the  handle  and  blend  the  bo3om  of  the  handle  into  the  jug.  Align  top  and  

bo3om  of  the  handle  with  each  other.  Apply  pressure  with  finger  on  the  inside  of  the  jug  as  you  blend  to  avoid  collapse.  

To assure thinner, fragile pieces do not dry too quickly and crack, bag  

completed  face  jug  loosely  to  slow  the  drying  process.  ANer  several  days,  remove    bag  to  finish  drying.  Touch  the  jug  to  your  cheek  to  

check  dryness.  If  it  feels  cold  there  is  s5ll  moisture  in  the  

clay.  If  it  feels  room  temperature,  its  ready  to  go  

into  the  kiln.    

ANer  firing,  students  can  glaze  their  piece  or  use  acrylic  paint  to  decorate  it.  

For  advanced  students,  this  same  project  can  be  used  to  create  lamp  bases.  A  light  assemblage  can  be  purchased  at  a  local  hardware  store  for  around  $10.  Add  a  lightbulb  and  a  lamp  shade  and  you  have  a  completed  lamp.  

Face  Jug  Project  Rubric  All  sections  should  be  completed  using  complete  sentences,  proper  spelling  and  grammar!  

 

Name  ________________________     Medium________________________  

Date  _________________________     Title  of  Work  ______________________    

Keywords  and  Techniques  

Hand  building  –  slab  and  coil  

Textural  techniques  –  impress,  incise,  appliqué,  mixed  media  

Hand  building  and  Textural  techniques  used  -­‐  ________________________________________  

_____________________________________________________________________________  

Glazes  Used  -­‐  __________________________________________________________________  

 

(15)________     Completed  Sketchbook  work       _________  

(15)________     Strength  of  Design  Concept         _________  

(15)  __________     Strength  of  Color  Concept       __________  

(15)_________   Clay  Construction         __________  

(15)  _________   Texture           __________  

(15)__________   Glaze  /  Painting  Craftsmanship     __________  

 (10)__________     Time  Management  and  Clean  Up       ___________  

 

 

(100)___________  Total               ___________  

Jody  Stouffer  /  Brian  Wohleben  –  Lee  County  High  School  

Face  Jug  Project  Critique  1. What  person  /  character  /  emotion  did  you  try  to  depict  for  your  face  jug?  

 

 

2. What  was  the  best  part  of  your  creative  process?  

 

 

3. What  characteristics  did  you  utilize  to  make  your  face  unique?  

 

 

4. Is  there  anything  thing  you  would  change  about  your  creative  process?  

 

 

 5. Explain  where  and  how  you  used  at  least  2  Elements  or  Principals  of  Art.  

 

 

 6. Using  a  minimum  of  five  sentences,  create  a  fictional  tale  that  explains  the  

“story”  behind  your  face  jug.    

 

 

Jody  Stouffer  /  Brian  Wohleben  –  Lee  County  High  School  

Selected Resources on the Southern Face Jug Tradition Bridges, Daisy Wade, editor. Potters of the Catawba Valley, North Carolina. Journal of Studies, Ceramic Circle of Charlotte, vol. 4. Charlotte, NC: Mint Museum, 1980. Horne, Catherine Wilson, editor. Crossroads of Clay: The Southern Alkaline-Glazed Stoneware Tradition. Columbia, SC: McKissick Museum, University of South Carolina, 1990. Huffman, Barry G., Catawba Clay: Contemporary Southern Face Jug Makers. Hickory, NC: A. W. Huffman, 1997. Newell, Mark M., with Peter Lenzo. “Making Faces: Archaeological Evidence of African-American Face Jug Production.” In Ceramics in America, edited by Robert Hunter (2006): 122-38. Perry, Barbara Stone, editor. North Carolina Pottery: The Collection of the Mint Museums. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2004. Zug, Charles G., III. Turners and Burners: The Folk Potters of North Carolina. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1986.