Pop Art Self-Portraits

Clay Tiles
Ellen Gessert Southfield-Lathrup HS

Course: Ceramics Unit: Inspiration # Of Sessions: 10 Class periods

RATIONALE: Students will explore the Pop Art movement, with a focus on Andy Warhol and his famous pop art portraits. Students will learn about tile making, while focusing on slab building techniques and also focus on subtractive and small additive features. Students will also be introduced to the art of printmaking when they transfer an ink printed self-portrait onto the wet clay. As a class, we will look at line elements and the difference/impact of line qualities. Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was a key figure in Pop Art, an art movement that emerged in the 1950s to become prominent over the next two decades. In the 1960s, Warhol created several mass produced images from photographs of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Jackie Onassis. The non-representational colors of Pop Art do not depict the artists inner sensation of the world. They refer to the popular culture, which also inspires Warhol to experiment with the technique of silkscreen printing, a popular technique used for mass production. By doing image transfer on clay, students can take a photograph or drawing of themselves or their favorite pop icon, duplicate it several times, and then experiment with various color combinations, just as Warhol did. BENCHMARKS & STANDARDS HABIT OF MIND/21ST CENTURY LEARNING SKILL EMPHASIS: Innovation Problem Solving Inspiration Exploring Self Identity ENDURING BIG IDEA: Students will 1. Explore basic printmaking techniques 2. Further their mastery of slab rolling and building and how these work to form tiles 3. Use self-inspiration as their big idea for this project ENDURING ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: Students will keep considering 1. How will printmaking, a usually 2D art, be used on clay, a usually 3D art? 2. How can I use my self-identity as a way to express myself and make art? 3. What colors will best inspire my identity while also relate to Pop Art?

KNOWLEDGE/OBJECTIVES: Students will know how to - Print an ink picture onto ceramic clay - Use slab building techniques to build a tile series - Vary line quality in order to form shapes, shading, etc. ASSESSMENT: Performance Tasks (Summative) 1. Creating- Students will be grades on their final product based on the given rubric outlying project requirements. 2. Presenting- Students will be given the choice to write a self-reflection essay about their final project or there will be a group critique where each student will need to explain their project. Other Evidence (Formative) 1. Response- Everyday students will be evaluated by their participation. This grade will factor into their overall grade. VISUAL AIDS: Pop Art famous artists, with a focus on Andy Warhol WEBSITES: http://ceramicartsdaily.org/education/ink-transfers-on-clay http://prezi.com/h2jcq11dmdzq/pop-art-clay-portraits (ignore the wire sculpt) VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=eHxlab3Djw0 MATERIALS: Clay Clay tools VOCABULARY: Subtractive Pop Art Rolling Pins Glazes Line Self-Portrait Newly ink-jet printed picture Glaze brushes Line Quality Inspiration

PROCEDURE: 4 B.E.L.S (Four Brain Essential Learning Steps) 1. Introduction a. Introduce project to students through Andy Warhol art history DVD, especially highlighting his Pop Art portraits. After this, show students the introduction video, outlining the specific steps for this project. After this, assign students the task of finding a photograph of themselves or a pop icon that is inspiring to them. 2. Brainstorming

a. Have students brainstorm different colors schemes. They will be creating four different tiles of 4x6 inches. They will be encouraged to use unique colors on each of their tiles. These colors should also be non-realistic. (See image a) 3. Develop of Learning Plan a. As students are selecting their images, have students in the computer, Posterize their photo so it is very harsh in contrast, making the lines easy to recognize. During this introduction, review what Line is and how it is used in various thicknesses. b. Demonstrate to the students how to roll the slab. Because they already used slabbuilding techniques during the bowl project, so this will mostly be a review. During this demonstration, show students the correct way to transfer a freshly printed ink image onto damp clay. With a water-soluble marker/pen, draw over the lines of the image that you want to transfer to the clay. 4. Taking Action a. When students have completed their brainstorm and outline of their portrait, they can begin to complete the following steps. i. Roll out slab; remember to not be too thick or thin (about ). ii. Lay image face down on the slab and smooth the back side with fingers to ensure good contact. After about 30 seconds 1 minute, lift corner to see if the image has successfully transferred. (See image b) Another option for this is to use washable marker, gel pen, or watercolor pencil to trace over lines and then transfer those lines to wet clay. iii. While clay is still soft, use a ruler to cut into tile creating crisp, clean edges. Leave room for a border around image iv. After the tile has dried slightly, begin to carve lines that were a part of the image using clay tools. Remember to encourage different line quality! If students are worried about carving too deep, place a clear plastic bag over the image and tracing the lines with a ballpoint pen. This results in a smooth line. Experiment with a variety of depths and thicknesses of the carved lines on a scarp piece of clay. After carving, sponge lightly over the surface to smooth. v. After firing of clay, begin to glaze tiles. Remind students about using nonrealistic colors.