Vessel
Identity through location: Where're you from?
In this section students actualize identity though connections to the James River, in their hometown of Richmond, Va. Students will be able to collect and work with clay gathered from the riverbanks. Harvesting the river clay requires some experimental firings and possible additions made to the clay body may be necessary in an effort to gain the right consistency and desired results. Plans for a functional water vessel can take inspiration from a variety of forms presented from American Indian examples. A decorative narrative motif will be required as part of a completed treatment of the surface.
By the time John Smith managed a small boat down a section of the James River on his second trip towards the Tidewater region of Virginia, several Indian tribes had already had limited European contact and were flourishing in the regions along the James, stretching to the Chesapeake Bay. Interactions were mostly cordial, with initial standoffs between parties resolving into cooperative treatment, guides and feasting celebrations. Barter of goods, copper trinkets and iron implements ensured the survival of early English settlements (Gallivan, 2003: xii).
In the early 1600's Chief Powhatan commanded a reasonably large group of Indian subjects with definite organization and centralized his control effectively into a hierarchal system where he ruled from the top and through middle agents, or local officials (Gallivan, 2003: xi, xiii). Within range of the great Powhatan nation were other organized groups, still having presence across Virginia today. The Algonquin were under the control of Powhatan authority, and Monacan tribes inhabited Virginia's central region during the space of pre-contact history known as Woodland period, from 1000 BCE to 1500 CE (Gallivan, 2003: 3). The study of these so-called early Virginian "Riverine cultures" is important, as it is noted that, "Waterways began to channel social interaction within the Chesapeake region," indicating, ". . . a shifting set of material culture," and, "the sharing of stylistic innovations (exemplified by ceramic decorative motifs). . ." (Gallivan, 2003: 4).
In a true sense, the James River is ever as important in the development of commerce and culture for the population of modern-day Richmond, as it was for the indigenous peoples of the past. Further explorations of the dependence on the James reveal communities enriched past the material sustenance of its water and its fish, and include desirable sites for housing, exchange of goods, modern day festivals and furnish directional identifiers for regions of our city. Southside residents of Richmond are positionally south of the flow of the river, while my own students in the East end of town live in housing situated along the eastern turn of the waterway. These roots to the water form the references that my students use when they call out their stomping grounds. Businesses' names throughout the city reference the river and there is a humbling respect for its power, which delivers floodwaters of the extreme sort, complete with the requisite left over sludge of silt and debris, stories high. Students in our river city are fortunate though, to have a beautiful stretch of Public Park works, amounting to over 20 miles of trails, canals and easily hiked small islands. Within her cache of riches, the river boasts a local clay source that can be accessed through coordination of Park services and students in the field. The physical removal of clay and the subsequent working of it will provide students an immediate connection to the life source of their city and allow for an authenticity when crafting their water vessels for the studio section of this module.
Teachers Note: I am presenting this section of the unit from a potter's perspective, as I create my own artworks from locally processed clay. I take clay in the body of my curriculum very seriously and routinely wait until the third quarter of the school year before I introduce clay work with my first level of art students. Additionally, while outlining requirements for working with the clay and demonstrating the clean up of the material in the classroom, I have my students sign a Clay Contract binding them to the responsible methods or they'll be responsible for a five page, typed research paper on the topic of our study. I find that students are willing to respond to the instructed techniques, as there is something quite magical in the tactile qualities of clay.
I will enlist the help of a local clay supply company to determine the additives that may be needed for the clay body coming from the riverbanks. Regular processed clay can be substituted for the locally gathered clay used in this lesson. Detailed requirements for the clay vessel can be outlined on the Assessment sheet located in the Teachers' resource section of the unit, to include that the vessel be built with a modified coil construction technique demonstrated by the teacher and viewed in examples. This method is a traditional way of making pottery practiced by generations of Pueblo potters. This way uses a saucer or a wide mouthed bowl as the form for the bottom of the vessels by pressing a slab of clay into the rounded surface. A piece of newspaper or thin cloth should be placed between the support and the clay to prevent the clay from sticking, and can be removed before firing. Pueblo pots are finished in the usual coil method and fired in shallow, protected pits close to the potter's house. Pueblo potters also dig their own clay and consider their clay sources sacred, only sharing the location with their families. Samples of Pueblo pottery can be displayed and examined with their artistic qualities discussed in a group setting before beginning construction. The quality and value of Pueblo pottery can be witnessed by viewing a website which covers the yearly Indian Market which takes place in Santa Fe, New Mexico and by checking the galleries and artist biographies listed. A link to the official site is included in the Teachers' Resource section. A description of the coil building method is described in the Classroom Activities section of the unit. Pueblo cultures can also claim association to our discussion of river culture due to their proximity to the Rio Grande, in New Mexico. Students should consider that their vessel will be designed to hold water and when they have finished building the form, plans for a decorative motif highlighting the aspects of belonging to a river culture can be sketched first and then added as a finishing detail.
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