Greek Vases: Scratch Art

After seeing this once or twice on some other sites, HERE and HERE, I decided to give it a try myself. 

On the first day 2nd graders were introduced to greek history, greek pots, and the terminology used to describe the major elements of a pot (mouth, neck, belly, and foot). We then reviewed warm vs. cool colors and talked about the warn colors used in greek pots. 

I then introduced them to symmetry. For this part I stand infront of the room to do a little symmetrical/asymmetrical dance. If I hit a symmetrical pose they put up one finger and if I hit an asymmetrical pose they put up two fingers.  (I have them join in if we have extra time at the end of a class and they love it!)  

Symmetrical. And no this is not me... But I should invest in a tie-dye unitard...

Asymmetrical... Thats more like it... but i do usually pick a pose I can hold

Once we have the basics down I have them fold a large piece of white paper in half, place a dot at the top and a dot near the bottom. They use their knowledge of the elements of a vase (mouth, neck, belly, and foot) to create a drawing along the fold. Once they have a vase idea on the paper they keep it folded and cut carefully. 

For the rest of class we begin coloring our vase in a thick waxy layer of warm colored crayons. 

Day Two: finish coloring with crayon and then paint over entire vase with black tempera using a flat foam brush to get an even coat. With the last minutes of class I review pattern and show them a couple shapes that repeat on greek pottery quite a bit. they them complete a pattern worksheet and come up with some designs and pictures they want to scratch into their vase. 

Day 3: Scratch day! Finally we got to what we had been waiting for! First I had them scratch three lines  about a half inch apart on the top of their page and again at the bottom. In those spaces they scratched their favorite patterns or designs. The belly of the pot was a space they could scratch in more freely.