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Girl Scout Badge for Pottery?


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I have been asked by a troop leader if i would teach a pottery class for a group of high school girl scouts, the equivalent of eagle scouts. It's for a specific badge/award. Have any of you done this before? I am a little hesitant since I just started in March and don't have the confidence of a seasoned potter, do I need to be? The studio I go to said I could do it there so logistics is not an issue (other than my day job might get in the way). I also could not find any pottery related info on the girl scouts website.

Thanks!

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The USA branch of the Boy Scouts is finally allowing girls to become Eagle Scouts, starting this year. Here’s the pottery badge requirements I found on their website.https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/Merit_Badge_ReqandRes/Pottery.pdf

 

It seems like they want them to take a pretty nice beginner class that touches on all the basics. I would venture that if you feel that have a few gaps in your knowledge base, you could probably tap a friend to help fill them in, but it looks doable. 

Edited to add:

keep in mind that you know more about pottery than someone who’s never done it before.  There will always be someone that knows more than you do, and someone who knows less. Teaching others can help reinforce your own skills.

 

also added:

the Girl Scouts do have a pottery badge, but it’s for the Brownies, and the description seems like making a pinch pot might cover it. It might be a good idea to clarify with the troop leader what the requirements are. 

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Thanks Callie! That file was exactly what I was looking for, didn't think to look at the "boy" scouts site, lol. I am sure they are not looking to make a pinch pot, the more advanced project is what she is looking to do. 

One thing I found interesting was the "b. Tell how three different kinds of potter’s wheels work". That seems odd, hmmmm... electric, kick and.... what else is there? Is there some kind of wheel I am not aware of? 

I can handle most of the things listed in that doc except the sculptural part, and explaining what makes a good clay body for throwing vs. sculpture, other than more grog helps maintain shape/prevent cracking for sculpting, same principle behind why concrete with no aggregate will crack. (I assume)

 

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4 hours ago, shawnhar said:

pottery class for a group of high school girl scouts, the equivalent of eagle scouts. It's for a specific badge/award

I was sure I had a pottery  badge,  so my nostalgia kicked in and I dragged out my Girl Scout sash fron the '50's-60's. Memory is a bit shot. See if you can find what I thought was pottery...hint...I finally remembered it was for basket making. Oh well! Gotta say, the old patches are way better looking than what they have today. If you get a copy of the new girl scout pottery badge, please post it-couldn't find it online. Hope you do provide the class-they will be very fortunate scouts!! I did a summer pottery class for an all-girls prep school/middle school years, when my daughter was there, and it was an absolute blast! 

1772556372_potterybadge.jpg.e6c26e2483aa3b35821438b6b8df9035.jpg

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Ha! I just saw a video of that stick wheel with Shoji Hamada, yikes!

Treadle must be the third wheel, not sure I'd consider it a different kind, it's just a kick wheel with an attachment right?, the same way a kick wheel with a motor bolted to it does not become an electric wheel, it's still a kick wheel with a motor on it. :rolleyes:

 

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1 hour ago, shawnhar said:

Ha! I just saw a video of that stick wheel with Shoji Hamada, yikes!

Treadle must be the third wheel, not sure I'd consider it a different kind, it's just a kick wheel with an attachment right?, the same way a kick wheel with a motor bolted to it does not become an electric wheel, it's still a kick wheel with a motor on it. :rolleyes:

 

I guess you could kick one if you really wanted, but I don't consider treadle to be a kick wheel, it just uses a heavy flywheel similar to a kick wheel.  If you started kicking it, it would kick you back

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On January 8, 2019 at 3:47 PM, shawnhar said:

 

I can handle most of the things listed in that doc except the sculptural part, and explaining what makes a good clay body for throwing vs. sculpture, other than more grog helps maintain shape/prevent cracking for sculpting, same principle behind why concrete with no aggregate will crack. (I assume)

 

Do you want a paragraph or thesis on this? :)

 

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I do a lot of Girl Scout workshops. I cover what I cover, and leave the rest up to them to finish on their own. They've done a lot of it at school already, like pinch pots. I offer workshops for one or two visits. If they do just one visit, we talk about how the kilns work, where clay comes from and how clay bodies are mixed, and what glazes are made of. Then they each make a pot on the wheel, and they pick a glaze color that I will apply for them after the pieces are bisqued. If they do two visits, we cover all that stuff, plus make a patterned coil bowl, paint their wheel thrown pieces with underglaze, and talk about being a working artist. They can research different types of wheels, etc, on their own. Your job is to get their hands dirty. Don't overthink it, or feel like you have to cover everything. You don't have that much time with them. Most troop leaders are pretty laid back about the requirements, and are just super excited that the girls get to use the wheels.

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1 hour ago, glazenerd said:

Do you want a paragraph or thesis on this? :)

 

Thesis! Dissertation! Diatribe!

I am happy to receive whatever knowledge you are willing to impart. In my spare time I've been known to watch physics lectures from MIT.

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As an ex scout leader, whatever you can cover will be way more than the leaders can do without your help.  

I've run pottery sessions with 6-11 and 13-18 year olds, and like all groups, some will pick it up really quick, others won't be interested.  Just get as many as you can to get their hands dirty, and ensure there is something for them all to take home next week/month.

As others have said, don't overthink it too much, but don't promise the leaders more than you are happy to cover.

Enjoy

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I imagine that question could be answered in lots of ways, Kick, Motorized kick, Geared direct drive electric, best drive electric, cone drive electric, Treadle and stick, and Two person manual drive wheel(Egyptian wheel that used a person in a hole below the whee to turn the stem).

 

 

best,

Pres

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Shawn:

today is the 19th, so I can contractually answer your question

Originally published in February 2019 issue of Ceramics Monthly, pages 66,67, & 68. http://www.ceramicsmonthly.org . Copyright, The American Ceramic Society. Reprinted with permission."

Techno File: Clay Body Shopping

plenty of info on clay properties.

Tom

 

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TY Mark:

i have to give credit to Holly Goring at CM. She started editing this article back in august or so. I think her favorite email response was " chemistry heavy." She did an excellent job of organizing my randomness. 

https://ceramicartsnetwork.org/ceramics-monthly/ceramic-supplies/ceramic-raw-materials/techno-file-clay-body-shopping/#

this link will take you directly to it.

Tom

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