Around 1500 BC, while much of the Americas was still home to hunter/gatherer tribes, Great Civilizations began to form in the region we now call Mexico. The main groups or tribes were the Olmec, Maya, Teotihuawan, Toltec and the Aztec. For thousands years these tribes thrived and advanced into richly cultivated societies. These indigenous people were very accomplished potters, they had mastered just about every known handbuilding technique. When the Spainards arrived in the 16th Century, and introduced the potter's wheel and even more advanced glazing techniques, these adept people not only adopted the new technologies easily but mastered them and made them their own. The melding of these ancient techniques with the modern Spanish ones resulted in the exquisite tile work, statues and earthenware still seen in abundance throughout this region today. Our next project will require the students to learn some of the most basic, yet indispensable handcrafting techniques, like slab making and surface decoration. Our first project in clay will be to make a lantern which begins with rolling out a slab of clay. I will ask the students to decorate their slabs by press printing various things into the surface. I have been asking them to start collecting things from home like coins, hardware, little plasic toys, pinecones or anything that they could imagine would make an interesting imprint.
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