Native Pottery

I used this lesson as an introduction to Native American pottery. We began by looking at the different styles of pottery made by Native Americans. It is important for students to understand that these usually serve a practical purpose such as storage. I gave the students lots of examples so they could see the different designs, patterns and symbols Native artists would use. After completing several sketches, student drew them out on manilla paper. The designs were outlined in black and then colored with markers. I had the students leave some of the pottery uncolored to keep that natural clay look. After the marker is complete, we used black and white chalk to create some very subtle highlights and shadows. This shading along with the placement on the black paper can create a very effective 3D effect. Once these were finished, we began creating some real clay pots!