Fish dishes - art project

Arts & Activities, Feb, 2003 by Marie Derby

The inspiration for this clay project came from ceramic dishes that I purchased on a family trip to Greece. I was captivated by the various shapes, styles and colors of Greek pottery. I found the fish-shaped dishes to be quite charming. It wasn't long before my mind kicked into gear and an art project was born.

To get my fourth-grade students fired up, I brought in a couple of these Greek fish dishes. I displayed the dishes in our art room, along with photographs of fish. We discussed the shapes and colors of the fish on display. Then each student received a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of scrap paper and drew a very simple sketch of the fish shape. These sketches would later serve as their templates. Once approved, the students cut the sketch out and laid it aside for later use.

It was then time to prepare the clay. Students were each given a piece of low-fire clay (cone 05-06). They worked with their clay until a round, smooth ball was formed. They then put the clay on boards and rolled out a slab with a rolling pin. It is important that each slab is approximately 1/4-inch or more thick. If it is too thin, the dish may not hold its shape too well.

Once the clay had been rolled out to the desired thickness, the students laid their fish template on top of the slab. They then cut around the fish template with plastic knives, carefully removing all the excess clay. I instructed them to remove the template and smooth the outside edges of the clay with their fingers. Before turning the fish over, each student made a small clay coil foot on the top of their fish, making sure the foot was well attached. Then they wrote their names on the clay with a needle and carefully turned the dish over.

I checked the middle of each dish to make sure that the foot would sit flat so that the dish would not wobble after firing. I told the students to carefully push up the sides of the fish to create a three dimensional dish shape. After pushing up the sides of the dish, they placed paper towel wads under the sides for support.

A word of caution: It is important to allow the paper towels to remain under the sides until the dish has dried enough to support itself. This should take only a couple of hours. I also made sure that no paper towels were under the foot as this could cause the dish to sit unevenly. My students removed all paper towels when the dishes dried. If the surface seemed a bit bumpy or uneven, they used a small wet sponge to carefully smooth the clay's surface.

Before painting the glaze on the dishes, we had a discussion about the patterns and decorations of the pottery on display. We also talked about the use and care of underglazes. After the students had created designs to decorate their dishes, I gave them the "green light" to paint their fish with colorful underglazes. I encouraged them to keep their designs fairly simple. (Older students should be able to use more intricate and complicated designs.) I then did an underglaze firing after the painting was finished. Following this initial firing, my students applied a clear glaze and I fired the dishes a final time.

The students were very excited by the array of colors when they saw their finished dishes. It is easy to understand why they were very eager to take their dishes home and show off their "Greek" pottery.

It is not necessary to stick with traditional Greek fish-shaped dishes. Turtles, starfish, crabs, teddy bears, birds and cats are all possibilities. Open your mind and you will find that the possibilities are endless.

Note: This project can be easily incorporated into middle- or high-school classes.

Marie Derby teaches art for the American International School of Budapest in Budapest, Hungary.