Day in Clay is COVID-19 compliant with school districts in the tri-state area

Staff Inservice Training /Virtual + Onsite

An exploration of clay, culture, and creativity—lessons learned from the classroom and the studio.

Staff Development Introduction

The staff workshop was the greatest. Everyone had a fantastic time!
You will be amazed at what Cliff can do on-line with live demonstration. 

—George Vollano, Arts Coordinator, Rippowam Middle School

Staff Inservice
Day in Clay training

In-school: Full and half-day programs
Virtual Staff Inservice: Typically, 90 minutes minimum. Virtual programs are engaging and highly interactive, interspersing pre-recorded video to illustrate techniques, and involve a robust Q&A.

About

Staff Inservice seminars, taught like my college classes, dive into materials, process, and creative outcomes. The Staff Development is custom-tailored for faculty, whether they are currently using clay.

Presentations include a cultural overview; samples of finished work and visual aids designed to build visual vocabulary. The techniques and information teachers empower them implement a ceramic arts project with ease and confidence.  

Materials
All tools, clay, and related materials necessary for the workshop are supplied. Each workshop provides a starting point for instructor’s future work with the materials.

Program activity

Teachers will employ techniques and participate in creating their own one-of-a-kind works in clay.  These will include various vessel forms: bowls, vases, and possibly tile making. In working with the air-dried clay, the pieces will be trimmed, painted /decorated during, or following the workshop.

The best way to problem-solve with your students is a hands-on approach.
A variety of advanced techniques are taught, able to be used in the classroom. Through my workshop you will learn the limits of the materials, and how to advance student’s success. I teach the science behind glazing, painting, and firing. The use of clay in the classroom provides a satisfying, tangible activity for your students to enjoy an emotional connection to their artwork, and its context in a historic and cultural dimension. My approach to multicultural lesson plans ranges from Native American, Asian, African, Latin America and South American, and European—ancient and contemporary.

This cultural context is necessary to help students make a bridge to their ceramic work. Clay can be used to employ symbols and metaphors to create narrative imagery; to illustrate a poem, a folk tale, or to simply say something about one’s own life.

Fun, informative and engaging

In my experience, teachers love making work with me —and trying out the tools and instructions that they can bring into the classroom. I will address the different skill levels from a high school to a kindergarten classroom.  Included is a potter’s wheel and kiln tutorial.

Slide show
Questions and Answers

I present a complete slideshow of the Day in Clay program,  working with students in a three-dimensional medium. This is a good time for questions and answers on how to bring clay into the classroom and address the technical aspects.

Participants leave with the satisfaction of a direct hands-on experience.

These include: Tile /vessel /mask-making/the potter’s wheel techniques/painting, and kiln use. Following the workshop, I remain available to you by telephone or email to answer your follow-up questions.

Staff Development will

  • Give teachers a better understanding of how to bring clay into the classroom
  • Demonstrate age-appropriate activities for students
  • Help teachers to adjust lesson plans to include clay at different grade levels.
  • Field all questions
  • Discuss the technical side of ceramics; kiln firing and non-firing techniques, as well as finishing pieces, use of non-toxic materials, and the application and handling of materials.
  • Explain how a multicultural approach is a unifying theme in ceramic art and apply it to your lesson plans.
  • Develop a clay lesson in the classroom
  • Explain and show how various techniques are used in different cultures to produce unique aesthetic appeal.
  • Demonstrate how to make plates, vessels, tiles/murals, and mask making.