Raku Firing

Carl & Weston, the amazing workshop leaders for our annual raku firing

Work is around 1900 degrees when we remove it with tongs. 

Glaze is like molten lava on the surface of the ceramic walls.

Ceramic work with traditional Japanese crackle glaze gets cooled quickly with water quenching, spraying, and old-fashioned blowing onto the surface. The cooled glaze quickly cracks and separates no longer fitting the surface, leaving black cracks along the piece where carbon from the fire darkens the clay. 

A post-firing reduction atmosphere happens when work is put into trashcans with combustible material, catching fire, then covered with lids, suffocating the work. The stubborn fire tries to keep burning, looking for oxygen in the glazes and clay and pulling out oxygen molecules, in turn creating metallic effects by transforming copper and other metallic oxides into copper. 

 Covering and cooling the work

Quenching in water and snow

Clay & Sculpture Scholastic Winners 2014

Congratulations to all the students who earned gold keys, silver keys, and honorable mentions in the Midwestern Regional competition of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards! The following students from AP Sculpture took home over a couple dozen keys and certificates:

Super-Talented & Awesome-Students:
Front Row: Marissa, Robin, Marilyn, Torie, & Angelica Z
Back Row: Becky, Taylor, Jack, India, Vicky, Ofelia, Haley, Jose, Giana, Jenny & Shanali
Not pictured: Krystyna, Angelica C, and Piotr

Illinois Regional HS Portfolio Scholarship Exhibition

  Piotr J.'s Mythological Teapots

 

 

 Javier D & family at the group exhibition

Mr. Ceh - along with Celita, Javier, & Neomi - all scholarship winners!

Robin H Represents Lane Sculpture at Illinois Show

Robin created a series of zippered faces entitled "Secrets, Secrets are No Fun." Her work was exhibited along with 4 other Lane students' art in a premier show of suburban and city high schools at the Illinois Regional Art Exhibition. Each school was invited to submit five works in the categories of painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, and graphic design.

 

 

Hilton Contemporary Gallery Exhibit

Lane alum Alex Agudo invited our wheel throwing & AP Sculpture students to exhibit in a show along with him at the Hilton Asmus Contemporary Gallery in the River North Art District. In a "Homage to Gene" Exhibition, students created ceramic works in response to up-cycled works by Alex from vintage jewelry.

Homage to Nelson Mandela

by Ryan L

Underglaze Thowing Rings!

This project has been so much fun! We have been applying colored slip with brushes and by hand onto bowls as we spin them out on the wheel. It brings back the lost art and joy of finger painting!

Pumpkin Carvings

The students just all ganged up on me one day and forced me to let them carve pumpkins for two days. I usually proudly refuse to do holiday art projects, but they broke me down...

Dia de Los Muertos Field Trip

We went on a tour of the annual Day of the Dead Exhibit at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago. After touring an excellent display of installations, ofrendas, sculptures and prints, we had a fortunate opportunity to work with the father & son Paredes artists from Puebla, Mexico, who create miniature scenes with calacas. Students were given boxes, clay, wire, & other media to construct a skeleton scene of their own in the art lab.

Daniel & Miguel Paredes

Students getting ready to make art

A variety of craft artists were offering demonstrations in the main hall. 

 Juana Gomez Martinez Ceramic Vessels & Animals

Jacobo Angeles Ojeda Wood Carvings

No trip to Pilsen would be complete without touring the neighborhood murals, then stopping by an authentic Mexican restaurant, bakery, and candy shop.