This document provides instructions for a project where students will design and create a canopic jar inspired by ancient Egyptian art. Students will learn sculpting techniques like coil building and modeling to form the jar and attach an animal head. They will also learn decorative techniques like incising, engraving, and glazing to decorate the jar with Egyptian-inspired patterns. The goal is for students to understand ancient Egyptian beliefs about death and afterlife through hands-on creation of a canopic jar.

1. You will improve your control of clay and use a several sculptural
techniques. You will use thumb pot, coil pot, modelling and a range
of decorative techniques including glazing to realise your design.
This project will give you the opportunity to investigate
Egyptian Art (in particular canopic jars) and design a pot with
a sculpted animal head. You will develop your knowledge of
ancient Egyptian beliefs and the afterlife through your own
research into the period.
You will learn about the ideas, approaches and methods
used within Egypt since 3500BC to preserve both
humans and animals.
SoW: Canopic Jars (Year 8)

2. Step1: Introduction to clay
Learning objectives. By the end of the session you will:
Develop an understanding of the properties and potential of clay;
Use the correct words to describe clay techniques and processes.
Learning outcomes. By the end of the session you will:
Know how to wedge clay to remove any air trapped inside.
Glossary:
Clay moist earth of decomposed rock
Wedge technique to take the air out of clay.
Greenware dried out, unfired clay.
Firing baking clay at a high temperature.
Bisque clay after first firing.
Kiln furnace that fires the clay.
Glaze finely ground mineral solution, turns to glass when fired
Part 1: Clay tile

3. Preparing your clay for sculpting
Wedging removes air pockets

4. Step 2: Rolling a clay tile
Learning objectives. By the end of the session you will:
Develop an understanding of the properties and potential of clay;
Use the correct words to describe clay techniques and processes.
Learning outcomes. By the end of the session you will:
Have created a slab.
Rolling pin
Clay guides
Clay mat
Clay- don’t forget to
keep turning it over
while you roll it out.

5. Creating a slab.
Roll out a slab using the guides to
control the thickness of the clay.
Use the sharp knife to cut around the
template. Initial your tile discreetly.
Flatten the clay a little to start you off.

6. Step 3: Decorative techniques
Learning objectives. By the end of the session you will:
Understand how to use techniques effectively to decorate your tile and, ultimately,
your pot;
Use the correct words to describe decorative clay techniques and processes.
Learning outcomes. By the end of the session you will:
Have attempted four, different decorative techniques-
1. Impress an object or textured surface into one quarter.
2. Score and slip a shape cut from the left over clay to the next quarter.
3. Cut shapes through the third quarter.
4. Carefully scratch away a design or layers of clay from the final quarter.
BEWARE:
If you draw directly into clay you create clay burs. These are the small pieces of
clay displaced by the line in the clay. These are unsightly and must be
smoothed down if they appear. If this smudges your line, simply draw it back in
and repeat the process until you have no burs and the line is clear.

7. Impress
Build up
decorative
layer
Engraving
and scratching
Piercing and
cutting
Your teacher will fire these for you to use later in the project.
Once you have rolled out your clay tile cut it into a square and divide it into 4.

8. Step 4: Thumb pot and coils
Learning objectives.
By the end of the lesson you will feel confident in using two sculpting
techniques: creating a thumb pot and building with coils. You will also learn
how to join two pieces of clay together using the score and slip technique.
Learning outcomes.
By the end of two lessons you will have created a thumb pot as a base and
added at least two coils.
Glossary:
Clay moist earth of decomposed rock
Wedge technique to take the air out of clay.
Slab a piece of clay that has been rolled out to a specific
thickness.
Score scratch into the surface of the clay.
Slip a mixture of clay and water.
Pinch / thumb pot A pot created by pushing your thumb into a ball of clay
and pinching the walls out.
Coil clay rolled into a sausage shape approximately the
thickness of your thumb.

9. Modeling clay into a pinch pot.

10. Make sure that your
pot builds straight
up. If it becomes
wider as you build it
you might end up
with a bowl!
If this happens, call
your teacher
immediately.

11. Step 5: Coil pot stage 2
Learning objectives:
Develop your control of the media;
Use tools and techniques confidently to make sure that your pot builds up
vertically;
Understand how to trouble shoot any problems should your pot start to
become narrower or wider as you add coils.
Learning outcomes.
By the end of each lesson you should attempt to add two or three coils to your
clay pot.
Glossary:
Slab a piece of clay that has been rolled out to a specific
thickness.
Score scratch into the surface of the clay.
Slip a mixture of clay and water.
Pinch / thumb pot A pot created by pushing your thumb into a ball of clay
and pinching the walls out.
Coil clay rolled into a sausage shape approximately the
thickness of your thumb.
Clay kidney Tool used to smooth the surface of the clay.

12. Step 6: Moulding the animal head
Learning objectives. By the end of the session you will:
Understand how to sculpt clay into a recognisable animal head;
Have developed your design so that the head is positioned appropriately on the pot.
Learning outcomes. By the end of the session you will have:
Made the head of your animal and hollowed it out;
Connected the head to the pot using the score and slip technique.
Glossary:
Slab a piece of clay that has been rolled out to a specific
thickness.
Score scratch into the surface of the clay.
Slip a mixture of clay and water.
Pinch / thumb pot a pot created by pushing your thumb into a ball of clay
and pinching the walls out.
Coil clay rolled into a sausage shape approximately the
thickness of your thumb.
Clay kidney tool used to smooth the surface of the clay.
Wire ended tool Tool used for hollowing out clay.

13. Click on the separate images to see how you can make:
A jackal and the falcon and ……………..the human and the baboon.
Think carefully how your
head is positioned on your
pot.
Snakes, tentacles, ears
and tails can wrap around
the body of the pot.

14. Step 6: Decorating your clay pot.
Remember this?
Use a combination of these techniques to
decorate your pot
Learning objectives.
By the end of the session you will:
Be able to use a combination of decorative techniques to add texture and pattern
to your sculpture.
Learning outcomes. By the end of the session you will have:
Covered your pot in patterns that show both an Egyptian reference and the texture
of the animal you created.

18. Step 7: Glazing your pot.
Remember this #2?
Experiment with the glazes on the tile you made
earlier in the project.
Investigate mixing new colours or limiting your
palette.
Learning objectives.
By the end of the session you will:
Be confident in mixing glazes and recreating the textures you hope to use on your
final pot.
Learning outcomes. By the end of the session you will have:
Experimented with different brush marks, layering and colours;
Annotated your experiments in your sketchbook so that you remember what you
did when your fired tile is returned to you.

19. Step 8: Paint your canopic jar.
Learning objectives. By the end of the session you will:
Use the knowledge from glazing your ceramic tile to recreate the colours and
textures in your design.
Learning outcomes.
By the end of the session you will have painted your pot accurately, adding detail
carefully and using black SPARINGLY!
Glossary:
Clay moist earth of decomposed rock
Wedge technique to take the air out of clay.
Slab a piece of clay that has been rolled out to a
specific thickness.
Leatherhard unfired clay not quite dry but firm enough to
carve.
Greenware dried out, unfired clay.
Firing baking clay at a high temperature.
Bisque clay after first firing.
Kiln furnace that fires the clay.
Glaze finely ground mineral solution, turns to glass when fired