Fired Clay Sculpture - Intro Syllabus

Phoenix Fired Art
Jeffrey Jones

This is a basic outline of the class and the lessons I'll be focusing on each week in order to cover a lot of ground in a short time. Students are encouraged to bring their own ideas and designs to develop for sculpture projects over the 6-week period.

Week I - Fired Clay Introduction

• Objectives
• Types
• bas relief
• vignette
• in-the-round
• Conceptualizing / Planning / Design
• Materials
• clays
• slips
• glazes
• Tools
• Techniques
• Firing Methods
• electric
• gas
• temperature
• Prepare for Bas Relief of Week II

Week II - Bas Relief

• Working in relief, the 3-dimensional illusion
• Prepare for Macquettes of Week III

Week III - Macquettes

• Working up macquettes as models for more involved sculptures
• Prepare for Figurative projects of Week IV

Week IV - Figurative Sculpture / Formal Project(s)

• The figure as a conceptual/literal basis for sculpture
• Looking and seeing
• "In-the-round" techniques
• Refining our work
• Finishing

Week V - Continued Figurative Sculpture / Formal Project(s)

Week VI - Wrap-up and Critique