10 sessions; 45 minutes per session

Lesson: Students will learn how patterned shields and crests identified entire families and clans in ancient days. Learn subtractive (background) and additive (foreground) ceramic methods.
Goal: Students will use regular, alternating and progressive patterns and textures to create a contemporary coat of arms. They will also gain an understanding of how art was used in medieval period to distinguish friend from foe and identify rank within a family.
Objectives: Create individual expression of art using new knowledge. Learn to think of ceramic art as more than for pottery or sculpture.

•Preprinted handouts about the meanings of cadencies and the geometric patterns of ordinaries
•Scholastic Art magazine November 2002 (Vol. 32, No. 2 ISSN 1060-832X)
•8”x10” sketch paper
•Pencil
•Sculpture White Clay
•Dinner plates
•Cellophane
•½” tall flat boards
•PVC rolling tubes
•Canvas to roll clay on
•Trim tools
•Modeling tools
•Sharp Needle Tools
•Plaster Carving Tools
•Glaze or Acrylic Paint
•Rustoleum Clear Coat
•Tile Grout Sealer (can be used on bisque)

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Content/Procedure:
1.The students should research their family name/heritage. They may use the image of the family crest or country’s flag (printed in the computer lab) as a starting point for this project.
2. The student will draw a 4’x 5” sketch. The sketch must show:
A shield with an “ordinary” (geometric design) and multiple “tinctures” (colors). The shield must utilize patterns.
2. The sketch must have a banner with their surname or a motto written upon it.
3. The sketch must have a helmet above the shield with a “cadence” on top.
4. It is optimal to have two figures or objects frame the shield on either side (unicorn and lion, cheerleader, electric guitar, etc.) However, due to the restrictions on the size of the clay plaques (not wider than 7”) this is not always possible.
After the sketch is complete. I tell the students to mark which areas will be carved away with red and which will be added to with green.
5. Next, wedge clay and roll out a ½” thick slab with a PVC tube between two flat boards. Make certain the slab is large enough to accommodate the entire sketch but not so wide as to crack in drying or transport (not wider than 7” or the slab will crack under its own weight).
6. Next, the student will lay their sketch on top of the clay slab. Using a sharp needle tool, he or she will poke small holes through the paper and lightly into the clay (advise them not to poke too deeply). Remove the paper and connect these shallow dots to create the crest image on the clay slab.
7.Gently turn over the clay slab to check for cuts and cracks on the back and sides. Then return to an upright position.
8. Place on a cellophane covered board or dinner plate to provide support during the carving and drying process.
9. Students carve out the designs as a bas relief. Note: It has been my experience that students who added clay helmets or banners to the slabs often had cracks or air pockets. The students carefully craft the helmets and are afraid to connect the helmet with slip and pressure.
10. I allowed the students to use
letter stamps for their name or motto. These stamps can be found in the mosaic aisle near stepping stones materials of any local craft store. I instruct the students not to insert the letter stamps all the way into the clay, allowing an edge to use to remove the stamp without marring the surface of the plaque.
11. Students should use a light touch with trim tools, ribs and moist sponges to smooth all edges. Fine details may need to be redrawn.
12. Coat of Arms can be rectangular or circular. If rectangular, place a hole on each side for hanging wire to be attached (I use the handle of the sharp tool for perfect holes). If circular, add a coil of clay for a rim around the edge. Display in a dish holder.
13. The final project should have a thickness of between ¼” (plate examples) and ½” plaque examples. Larger coat of arms should be allowed to dry a day or two more than you would anticipate before the first firing. (Thus, plan to provide students with additional reading or Art History lessons.)
14. Fire the thick projects lowly and slowly to a cone 05.
15. Sand any sharp contours.
16. Rinse the bisque with water to remove any dirt or debris.
17.Watercolor can be used on the bisque to look like old stone. My students preferred to use ceramic glazes or acrylic paints. While the color selections are brighter, the acrylic paints tend to clog the fine details of the carvings.
18. Ceramic glazed pieces need to be fired again.
19. Painted pieces should be sealed with a Rustoleum® Clear Coat Enamel spray paint.
20. Clean bisque can be sealed with Tile grout sealer.

The students will fill out a rubric for self-assessment. Teacher will grade on same rubric. Quiz of vocabulary terms learned. Rubric:
1. I designed a ceramic Coat of Arms bas relief. I used reference material as a starting point for my original work of art.
2. The helmet above the shield has a cadency on top. The one I chose was the _____________ because I am the _______child in my family.
3. The shield contains an ordinary and a pattern (geometric or organic). Use the reference sheet and write the type of ordinary you used in the following blank:_________________
4. I wedged the clay thoroughly and checked for air bubbles before I started my project.
5. I have carved or painted a family surname or a motto on a banner.
6. I used the subtractive (carving) method to create different details and textures.
7. I added a hole(s) to hang the coat of arms and clearly cut my initials and class number in the back of my work.
8. I smoothed the edges of the wet clay plaque or plate with a moist sponge. I sanded the
bisque so that the piece has no sharp edges.
9. I controlled my brush and either painted or glazed the ceramic piece neatly.
10. Everyday I took responsibility for cleaning my space and assisting my classmates.

Reading Strategies Supported: Students will read Scholastic Art magazine November 2002 (Vol. 32, No. 2 ISSN 1060-832X). This lesson will use many new vocabulary words that relate to heraldry and genealogy.

I am having difficulty uploading images. Here are the vocabulary words I used with this Coat of Arms project.
Cadency = A mark on the Coat of Arms that indicates the birth order. The oldest son used the label (looks like three Ts joined at the top). The second eldest used a crescent (crescent moon shape with the points and opening at the top). The third eldest used a molet (a five pointed star). The fourth eldest used a martlet (a bird shape). The fifth in line used a circle inside another circle. There are cadencies assigned to the 9th son. In the modern era, daughters also may use her father’s coat of arms with a cadency mark of a small shield above the main shield.
Ordinary = the simple geometric shapes and stripes that are placed on a shield.
Helmet = the head piece of a suit of armor, usually displayed above the shield
Tinctures= the colors used on Coat of Arms
Or (Gold or Yellow)
Argent (Silver or White)
Purple (Purple)
Sable (Black)
Vert (Green)
Azure (Blue)
Gules (Red)
Bas relief= a sculpture in which the design is raised very slightly from the background
Carving = cutting with care and precision, to shape by hewing out
Armature = a skeletal framework of a sculpture
Bisque = ceramics that have been fired once in the kiln
Ceramics = the art of making objects from clay and hardening them with fire.
Clay = A soft, moist material used to create artworks such as sculpture and pottery.Coil = clay rolled between you palms to make a thin “rope” of clay
Contour = the edges of an object
Firing = to harden with the heat of a kiln
Geometric forms = A form such as a sphere, cube or pyramid.
Glaze = liquid glass applied to bisque and fused to it by refiring the piece in the kiln.
Handbuilding = making ceramic art without the assistance of a powered wheel
Hollow = empty inside (like a balloon)
Intaglio = An image that is scratched into a surface
Kiln = An extremely hot oven used to harden clay.
Medium = The material and artist uses to create art (clay, paint, etc.)
Pinch = insert thumb into a ball of clay, then press clay between thumb and fingers
Pottery = applied art, ceramics that can be used (plates, cups, mugs, pitchers, etc.)
Score = to make shallow cuts on a surface with a tool
Sculpture = a three dimensional artwork made by modeling, carving, or joining materials
Slab = clay rolled out to a uniform thickness (no thicker than your thumb)
Slip = A yogurt-like mixture of clay and water that acts as “glue” on scored clay.
Stamp = a tool used to press an image into or onto another surface
Technique = the way an artist uses materials (style)
Wedge = to press clay with the heal of your hand to remove air bubbles
Motto = (History / Heraldry) a short saying expressing the guiding maxim (principle) or ideal of a family, organization, etc. (often inscribed in the Coat of Arms)

Medieval Art

Unity/Harmony, Texture, Rhythm/Pattern

Ceramics, Sculpture

History/Social Studies