Clay: Useful, Beautiful or Both? Activities by Mary Erickson, Ph.D. and graduate student Colette Pecenka In conjunction with the exhibition: NCECA: 2009 Regional Student Juried Exhibition from the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts and the Tempe Center for the Arts

Why do things look the way they do?

Can you see which parts on these cars are useful? Look for doors, windows, lights and wheels.

What makes these cars beautiful and/or interesting? What shapes and colors do you see?

Often people design things to be both useful and interesting to view.

The Tempe Center for the Arts (TCA) looks the way it does so it will be useful. It has a roof to protect people from the sun and spaces inside where people can see art, music and theatre shows.

The TCA also looks the way it does so it will be beautiful and/or interesting to view. It has interesting colors, shapes and lines.

How are pencil holders designed so we can use them to hold pens and pencils?

Cylinders make good pencil holders because they are open at the top and they are tall. Cylinder from top Cylinder from bottom Cylinder from side

Which container is useful because it holds the most pencils? Which is decorated to make it interesting to view?

Clay is a kind of sticky soil found all over the world Clay is a kind of sticky soil found all over the world. People have made useful things from clay for thousands of years. These clay and stone walls are hundreds of years old. They are part of the Pueblo Grande Ruins in Phoenix by the Salt River near the TCA.

They made this bowl from clay. How do you think they used it? Hundreds of years ago, the Hohokam people lived near the Salt River where the city of Phoenix is now. They made this bowl from clay. How do you think they used it?

Can you find spirals, circles, zigzags and dots? These are broken pieces of Hohokam pots. Potters added shapes, colors and lines to make them visually interesting. Can you find spirals, circles, zigzags and dots?

Today, people sometimes find broken pieces of clay like these, when they dig in the ground in central Arizona. Experts at the Arizona State University Anthropology Museum put together these pieces from south of Phoenix like a puzzle.

This pot was useful for storing things This pot was useful for storing things. The shapes and colors make it interesting.

These artworks also look like they could be used as containers. The National Council of Education for Ceramic Arts (NCECA) organizes exhibitions of artwork by college students. These have interesting shapes, colors and lines. Dupont Green Lundgren These artworks also look like they could be used as containers.

It is interesting to view. Do you believe it can be used in some way? A college student made this clay artwork. Ames It is interesting to view. Do you believe it can be used in some way?