3rd Grade Ceramic Bird Nests

3rd Grade Bird Nests Drying in the Art Room

This week, third grade finished constructing their own ceramic bird nest using various sized coils of clay to build and texture a bowl shape.  Students then added anywhere from two to four eggs.  Before we created the nests, the students learned about Juan Quezada, a famous potter from Mata Ortiz, Chihuahua in Mexico whose pottery saved his village from poverty.  As a boy, Juan discovered some pots made by his ancient ancestors in a local cave, found the sources of their clay and colors, and learned to construct these beautiful works of art himself.  After an American anthropologist discovered Juan's work in a New Mexico secondhand store, he found Juan and helped create a market for his masterful pottery in the U.S..  Eventually, Juan taught the townspeople of Mata Ortiz to become expert potters like him, and today the village's pottery is world-renowned.  We'll glaze these nests before the holiday break, after they've had some time to dry and be fired.