Building a Story out of Clay

Course brief description:

During this interesting hands-on course, the participants will explore the world of clay; they will enjoy exploring the beauty, kinds, and professional way of creating items from clay. The theme of this course is the year of the camel 2024, thus participants will develop their ideas into clay structures in order to represent the beauty of Saudi culture. Moreover, they will adopt designs from traditional artifacts with a modern take. This exciting course welcomes those who have a passion for art. It is highly recommended for intermediate and advanced artists, calligraphers, sculptors, art teachers, and art students to come and master the essential skills and techniques of clay sculpting. Participants will also learn how to establish their ideas and transform them into a piece of art. Additionally, they will learn all the steps involved in professional clay making, such as how to color, glaze, burn, and present it in a professional and artistic way. More importantly, they will learn from common mistakes in order to prevent such accidents. Furthermore, they will practice under professionals in the clay field.
 

Techniques:

• Using a pottery wheel to shape clay.
• Utilizing the natural pigments of the clay to create a marble effect out of various types of clay.
• Painting  clay while implementing a marbling effect on the pottery wheel.
• Conducting international advanced coloring techniques such as Mishima glaze and Sgraffito glaze
• Sanding the clay on the pottery wheel while using the burnishing technique.

Learning objectives:

• Educate participants about the various heat levels; low, medium and high.
•  Familiarize participants with local clay, its whereabouts, and usage
• Differentiate between various types of clay and their properties.
• Learn the stages of creating a clay structure from sketching the idea, making actual pieces using the different construction techniques, and learning about the stages that the piece goes through before it reaches the final stage of firing and preparing it for display.
• Utilize the most important clay tools, their various uses for shaping, and different textures on the clay model.
• Use multiple clay colors, applying them to pieces, and different coloring techniques before and after the firing process.
• Master basic construction methods such as ropes, strips, and pressure and apply them on different pieces.
• Learn the basics of manual construction using the rotating wheel, enabling them to make ceramic pieces, trim their pieces using the wheel, and prepare them for the firing process.

Learning outcomes:

• To create commercial ceramic pieces bearing the identity of the region focusing on the year To create pieces that depict the Kingdom’s traditional artifacts, such as incense burners, in order to rebuild them with a modern take.
• To color ceramics using a rotating wheel with textures applied by using elements found in the Kingdom's natural environment (palm leaves, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, etc).
• To end with a useful final product that depicts the beauty of the Kingdom.

Recommended for:
Potters, artists, calligraphers, sculptors, art teachers, and art students.