Here are some great ideas for hands-on art projects for students ranging from lower elementary to high school, which introduce students to ceramics design without a great investment in equipment. If there is no kiln at your school, there are many places such as other schools' and universities' art departments, paint-your-own pottery centers, and local pottery supply stores which will be able to fire your ceramics projects for you at low cost.
Clay art dinnerware is easy to make using low-cost molds. Clay is rolled to the desired thickness over a slab mold. Slab molds are flat and textured with various patterns so that the rolled-out clay takes on the relief pattern of the mold in reverse. While the clay is still on the slab mold, the reverse side (which will be the bottom of the plate) can be decorated with wooden or rubber stamps, or even found objects, to produce a unique pattern. The plate is then peeled from the slab mold and placed on a curved drape mold. The plate is gently pressed down on the drape mold, which changes the plate's profile from flat to curved. While on the drape mold, feet can be made for the dish from small balls of clay; or else a base can be made by rolling excess clay into a rope and placing a coil centered on the dish. When removed from the drape mold the dish can be fired and then decorated with paints or glazes.
Decor
Bisque ceramic tiles are squares of clay which have been fired one time at a low temperature - i.e. white, unglazed, fired clay tiles. These are inexpensive to buy and can be decorated with underglazes, any type of paint (even watercolors), pencils, inks, crayons, even chalk. After decorating, several coats of a clear glaze can be painted over the design and the tiles fired to cone 04, which makes for a professional, finished appearance. Or, several coats of a white gloss low fire glaze can be used as the base and then designs can be drawn or painted with underglazes or ceramic paint and fired again to cone 04. This technique makes for a majolica (Renaissance-style) effect. The student-created tiles can be the basis of a tile mural. When students work together to create a tile mural for the school building itself or for other spaces in public, it teaches teamwork and collaboration, and instills a great deal of pride in the participants. Mural creation can bring the entire school community, students, their parents, the faculty and school administration together, and be a truly unique experience for the entire school.
Making Clay Art Dinnerware and Painted Ceramic Tiles Are Great Ceramic Student Art Projects
Great ceramic school art projects don't have to be expensive or require special equipment. Clay art dinnerware requires nothing more than inexpensive molds and ceramic paint. The entire school community can enjoy the creation of bisque ceramic tile murals with little capital outlay but lots of enthusiastic participation.