Have you ever heard about the art of Ceramics?
Hey Friends!!!
It's so nice to have you back here again for another edition of Kids Staying Inspired! Today, we will be learning about Ceramic Art. Do you know what a ceramic is? A ceramic sculpture is a piece of art that is made by using clay, powder or earthenware mixed with some water. Artists have different ways that use their hands to shape the clay into a specific shape or object. They could make a statue of a beautiful angel or a small teacup. If it's something you can use to complete a task, such as drinking tea, then you would call it functional.
Once the artist has shaped his wet clay, he lets it dry out on a table. After that, he paints it with different color glazes that get hard when it's placed in really high levels of heat! That is why it has to go into a HUGE oven called a kiln to fully dry and be finished.
Watch these kids get into some pottery by spinning it on a moving wheel!
Let's Meet Some Cool Ceramic Artists!
Peter Vulkos
Artist's Estate
Peter Vulkos is a famous ceramic artist born right here in the USA. He uses clay to make very abstract sculptures. In his early life, he was a soldier in the U.S. Army, but after that he dedicated his life to the arts. While he was in New York, he learned from other abstract artists like Fran Kline.
Abstract: Using random shapes, lines, and colors to express emotions through art.
Abstract: Using random shapes, lines, and colors to express emotions through art.
Toshiko Takaezu
Photo Credit: John Paul Miller, 1960's
Toshiko Takaezu was an American ceramic artist as well. She was born only two years before Peter Voulkos in Hawaii. He parents, who were both Japanese natives that migrated there. Her work is really important because it's part of the reason other people accept ceramic art as a fine art.

Photo Credit: Macario Tembal, 1987
Sometimes ceramic Art pieces can be functional. This means that the piece serves a purpose and that someone can use it for something. Here at the Albany Museum of Art, we will be showcasing this functional ceramic art piece by Eddie Domniguez in the West Gallery exhibition titled Viberations of Pasaquan.
What colors do you see?
What shapes and patterns can you fins on the beads.
Would you wear these necklaces?
What shapes and patterns can you fins on the beads.
Would you wear these necklaces?