I.S.246 Tile Making Project, Brooklyn, N.Y. 7th & 8th graders
by Steve Mayo
Art Facilitator
Students observed masks at the Brooklyn Museum and drew from the vast resources of masks the Museum has to offer. After sketching the masks of 8"x8" paper, (to be transferred later onto clay tiles), the project of tile making began.
More than 150 hadmade tiles, 8"x8", were created by clamping two straight pieces of wood 8" apart on a work bench. The students then rolled the clay between the wood, using rolling pins, to make an even 8" tile. The tiles were allowed to dry overnight to become leather hard, making it easier to transfer the mask drawings to the clay tiles. The drawings were placed on top of the tiles and poked through with a pin to complete the transfer, like making a dot drawing. Finally the masks were outlined on the tiles to create a relief effect.
There were a total of twenty students working on this project, so a number of repeated tiles were made by making plaster moulds.
The boys loved mouldmaking, not too exciting for the girls, fingernails, you know, mixing plaster was a lot of fun for them. We made a frame with clay around the tile after it was completed, leaving a 2" space between the tile and the clay frame. We then poured wet plaster over the tile, covering it completely. This excited everyone. The students realized, after seeing how accurate the moulds were, that they could very easily go into business for themselves, (smile).
