Katie Morris

Pauline South Intermediate

Lesson Title: 6th Grade Animal Habitat Sculptures Lesson

Key Ideas: This lesson is intended to teach students about the elements of art and principles of design, hand building techniques for working with clay, surface design, and animals and their habitats.

Objectives:

  1. The students will describe, analyze, interpret, and judge a Statuette of a Hippopotamus from Egypt’s Middle Kingdom. (Aesthetic Scanning).
  2. The students will utilize hand building techniques to sculpt an animal.
  3. The students will carve the surface design of their animal sculpture with drawings of organic forms from the animal’s natural habitat.
  4. The students will use contrasting colors to paint their animal sculptures.

Resources: (Statuette of a Hippopotamus from Egypt’s Middle Kingdom), books with images of animals

Vocabulary:

Line, Shape, Color, Texture, Value, Space, Form

Clay, Greenware

Hand building, Slab, Coil, Pinch Pot, Sculpt, Carve, Incise

“Score, Slip, Squish”

Habitat

Surface, Design, Organic

Materials:

Air dry clay

Clay tools, Tooth picks, Pencils

Paint

Paintbrushes

Presentation: This assignment will cover two 40-minute class periods.

Day 1: The teacher will project the image of the Statuette of a Hippopotamus from Egypt’s Middle Dynasty at the Met Museum. The students will describe, analyze, interpret, and judge the artwork. The teacher will make sure the students note that the surface design of the hippo is inspired by organic forms in its natural habitat. Next, the teacher will introduce the assignment: Sculpt an animal and incise surface designs that reflect its natural habitat. The teacher will demonstrate/review hand building techniques, focusing on pinch pots (can be used for the main part of the body), slabs, coils, and making attachments using the 3 “S”s. The teacher will point out the available animal books for reference and pass out clay. The students will work silently to finish sculpting by the end of class. Clay Rule: When clay is out, voices are off unless the student is asking the teacher a question.

Day 2: The teacher will review the material covered on Day 1. The teacher will demonstrate painting the surface of the animal sculptures to make sure the carved designs show up. Contrasting colors will be strongly recommended. The students will have the rest of the 2nd class period to paint their sculptures. If students finish early, they will write an artist statement about their work.

Kansas Visual Arts Standards Met:

Standard 1: Understanding and Applying Media Techniques and Processes

Benchmark 4: The student selects and applies different media, techniques, and processes to communicate through works of art.

Benchmark 5: The student uses control in handling art materials and tools in a safe and responsible manner

Standard 2: Using Knowledge of the Elements of Art and the Principles of Design

Benchmark 3: The student visually communicates by incorporating the elements and key principles in works of art.

Standard 3: Creating Art Works Through Choice of Subjects, Symbols, and Ideas

Benchmark 2: The student incorporates images, subjects, and symbols into art works.

Standard 4: Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures.

Benchmark 3: Demonstrate how history, culture, and visual arts can influence each other in making and studying works of art.

Standard 5: Reflecting Upon and Assessing the Characteristics and Merits of Art

Benchmark 1: The student describes characteristics evident in art works.

Benchmark 2: The student describes and shares opinions about works of art.

Standard 6: Making Connections Between the Visual Arts and Other Disciplines

Benchmark 3: The student identifies connections between the visual arts and non-artdisciplines.

Statuette of a Hippopotamus, Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12, ca. 1981–1885 b.c.
Egyptian; Middle Egypt, MeirFaience

H. 4 3/8 in. (11.2 cm), L. 7 7/8 in. (20 cm)
Gift of Edward S. Harkness, 1917 (17.9.1)

This well-formed statuette of a hippopotamus demonstrates the Egyptian artist's appreciation for the natural world. It was molded in faience, a ceramic material made of ground quartz. Beneath the blue-green glaze, the body was painted with the outlines of river plants, symbolizing the marshes in which the animal lived.

The seemingly benign appearance that this figurine presents is deceptive. To the ancient Egyptians, the hippopotamus was one of the most dangerous animals in their world. The huge creatures were a hazard for small fishing boats and other rivercraft. The beast might also be encountered on the waterways in the journey to the afterlife. As such, the hippopotamus was a force of nature that needed to be propitiated and controlled, both in this life and the next. This example was one of a pair found in a shaft associated with the tomb chapel of the steward Senbi II at Meir, a site about thirty miles south of modern Asyut. Three of its legs, originally broken to prevent the creature from harming the deceased, have been restored. The hippo was part of Senbi's burial equipment, which included a canopic box (also in the Museum), a coffin, and numerous models of boats and food production.