Ceramics students just finished working on a couple of projects that were “for the birds” – Angry Birds, that is. Students used the introduction of basics skills by teacher Amanda Harter to put together their own, unique Angry Birds and owl sculptures. Starting off with a simple pinch pot and then adding details, learning as they went, students ended up with sculptures that showed off their own personalities.

    “The first skill that is taught in ceramics is how to make a pinch pot, but pinch pots are boring,” Harter said. “Instead I have my students create two symmetrical pinch pots and use coil to fuse the two together, creating the perfect form of an angry bird.”

    Part of creating ceramics includes firing their projects for eight hours in a kiln that reaches 2100 degrees Fahrenheit. The students then glaze their creations, which adds color, and then repeat the process to finish the project.

    “The cool thing about clay is that until you fire it the first time, you can actually take a hard clay sculpture and melt it back down with water,” Harter said. “However, once it is bisque fired the first time, it can no longer be reclaimed.”

    According to Harter, making angry birds also allows her to introduce the skills needed to make coils, slip, and basic slab sections for the Angry Bird details. The next project on the agenda is for the students to expand on those basic skills to create their very own minions.