Relief Tiles
Assignment
Your design is to create a low-relief carving using foreground, middleground, and background to create depth that involves overlapping elements. Design should be based on an environment. Consider what lives in that environment such and plants and animals. Design needs to incorporate texture.
Overall learning objectives:
Students will understand relief sculpture
Students will create a design that incorporates foreground, middle ground, and background.
Students will roll an even slab.
Students will use subtractive sculpture to create a design.
Students will create at least three layers of relief.
Students will create texture in clay.
Examples
Art Inspiration
Learning objectives:
Students will understand what is relief sculpture
Student will compare examples of relief sculpture from history with contemporay art examples
Students will differentiate between foreground, middle ground, and background
Students will understand what texture is in clay
Directions:
Review the following page for relief tiles
Watch the video under the history portion- Angkor Wat Relief sculpture
Watch Victoria Ellis’ relief sculpture process- Video
Make a copy of and complete the Art inspiration assignment in Google Classroom.
What is Relief Sculpture?
"Relief" simply means a sculpture is on a flat surface and not "in the round."
Low relief barely protrudes from the surface like the example to the right shows.
High relief sculpture is a sculptural relief in which the projection from the background surface is significant and notable.
Art History
Relief Sculpture of Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is a temple complex in Siem Reap of Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world. It was originally constructed as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu for the Khmer Empire, gradually transforming into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the 12th century.
Angkor Wat is a stunning example of low relief sculpture in art history.
Contemporary Artist Victoria Ellis- Relief Sculpture Process
What is Foreground, Middle-ground, and Background?
Foreground is what I closest to the viewer. In your relief sculpture it will be the highest layer.
Middle ground is the mid layer. It will be lower that your foreground. Usually what is in the middle ground will be smaller in scale than the forground.
Background is the layer furthest back. As objects go back in distance, they also become smaller. You will carve your background the deepest.
What is Texture?
Texture is used to describe the way something feels when touched.
When working with clay, you can create texture by adding clay, carving the clay, or stamping into the clay.
Skill Builder
Learning objectives:
Students roll and cut an even slab
Students will learn to transfer their design from a paper template to the clay.
Directions:
Choose a square of the whole class image
Enlarge your section of the drawing onto a paper template
Roll a slab of clay
Transfer your design to the clay
Carve out your design
20 points
** EXTRA CREDIT TO THE PERSON WHO COMES UP WITH THE COLLABORATIVE MURAL DESIGN**
STOP: Skill Builder FOR 2023
Learning objectives:
Students roll and cut an even slab
Students will learn to transfer their design from a paper template to the clay.
Directions:
Draw out a name tag design
Roll a slab of clay
Transfer your design to the clay
Carve out your design
20 points
Planning & Design
Learning objectives:
Students will understand relief sculpture
Students will create a design that incorporates foreground, middle ground, and background.
Directions:
Create 2 design sketches.
Designs should be colored in with 3 different colors representing the foreground, middle-ground, and background.
10 points
Process
Measuring the tile template, rolling the slab, cutting the tile:
Learning objective:
Students will measure and cut a template out of scrap paper.
Students will roll an even slab of clay that is at a minimum the size of their template
Students will cut a slab with squared edges using their template and a ruler.
Directions:
1. Roll slab using guides
2. Measure and cut paper template to be the size you would like your tile to be. Minimum 7" x 7"
3. Line a metal ruler up with the template's edge making sure you have a straight line guide.
4. Cut slab edges straight up and down with a needle tool. Repeat on all four sides.
Demonstration Video:
Rolling Square Slab for Clay Relief Tile.mp4Transferring the design to the clay:
Learning objectives:
Students will understand a method of transferring a design from a template onto clay.
Directions:
1. Draw your design onto your tile template.
2. Go over the design with ebony pencil.
3. Place the design onto clay tile face down and burnish.
4. Go over your line work with a needle tool if necessary to clean it up.
5. Begin carving out background layer.
Transferring Design to Tile.mp4Carving the Tile and Building it Up
Learning objectives:
Students will use subtractive and additive sculpture to create a relief design
Students will create 3 layers of relief illustrating foreground, middle ground, and background.
Students will create texture in clay.
Directions:
Once you have your design transferred, begin carving away the background first. Carve the middle ground back but not as far as the background.
Add dimension to your forground by building up and modeling with more clay.
Carve texture into all 3 layers.