SOUL LANTERNS
Letting that inner self shine
Throughout time and across cultures, artists have embraced their identity: their culture, background, experiences, passions, and have used these as inspiration for their art.
Antonia Pitruzzella, Lantern WIP Picture, 2025
Overview
Lesson Summary / Rationale:
Every person is different, has different likes, dislikes, backgrounds, and live experiences. No one person is the same, and the same should be said of the art they create. Artists throughout time and across cultures have used their identity as their inspiration and have created new and exciting pieces that have never existed before. Artists have embraced aspects of their life experiences to inform and shape their artwork, as identity is crucial to how a person understands and experiences the world as well as how the world views them.
As the highest level ceramics class, students should be thinking and working like ceramic artists. They should be pushing themselves to try new techniques, refine their craftsmanship, and push their ideas out of what is comfortable for them. These students should be creating new and exciting pieces, not copy and pasting ideas from Pinterest or online. In an advanced course, they should be expected to create like artists and to be pushed outside of their comfort zones in art making. The students will also be expected to talk and think about their identity. Students will create a lit vessel that reflects an aspect of their identity, pushing them to reflect inwards rather than copying an idea they found online.
Artworks, Artists, and/or Artifacts:
Kukuli Velarde, Plunder Me Baby
Kukuli Velarde is a Peruvian artist who draws heavy influence from pre-Columbian works. Her series Plunder Me Baby features near replicas of pre-Columbian pottery with her face on it. Students can see how an artist moves past copying and pasting work, and a fun way to put their own spin or mark on the work to make it their own. Kukuli Velarde also draws heavily from her experiences, culture, and ultimately identity in her own works.
This Raqqa ceramic lantern is a historical example of a finished lit vessel. This lantern is highly decorative, drawing inspiration from architecture. The finished vessel resembles a square, domed building, with columns supporting each corner.
Key Concepts:
In order to make art, artists need to reflect and think about the idea they wish to convey.
Identity affects how an individual perceives the world and how the world perceives them.
Many students find their inspirations or ideas from online, and do not do much to alter them or make their own. Each student has lived a unique life with unique memories and stories.
Essential Questions:
How can artists reflect on their identity or personal experiences?
How does an individual identity affect how someone lives and perceives the world around them?
How can artists find inspiration from their own experiences and the world around them?
Standards
National Standards:
VA:Cr2.1.IIa - Organize and develop artistic ideas and work
Enduring Understanding: Artists and designers experiment with forms, structures, materials, concepts, media, and art-making approaches.
Essential Questions: How do artists work? How do artists and designers determine whether a particular direction in their work is effective? How do artists and designers learn from trial and error?
Through experimentation, practice, and persistence, demonstrate acquisition of skills and knowledge in a chosen art form.
The students will be asked to push the techniques that they already know, and to try out a new building technique. They will also be pushed to try new and harder ideas through a 1:1 discussion with the instructor about their sketches.
VA:Cn10.1.Ia - Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experience to make art
Enduring Understanding: Through art-making, people make meaning by investigating and developing awareness of perceptions, knowledge, and experiences.
Essential Questions: How does engaging in creating art enrich people’s lives? How does making art attune people to their surroundings? How do people contribute to awareness and understanding of their lives and the lives of their communities through art-making?
Document the process of developing ideas from early stages to fully elaborated ideas.
The students will be developing awareness about their experiences. It is important for them to understand who they are, and how that affects how they view the world and the world views them. Students will be asked to participate in daily class discussions and some days submit an exit ticket to document awareness.
PA Standards:
9.1.12.H. Incorporate the effective and safe use of materials, equipment and tools into the production of works in the arts at work and performance spaces
Students will use materials safely in the ceramics room, as there are materials that may cause harm if used incorrectly.
9.3.12.G Analyze works in the arts by referencing the judgements advanced by arts critics as well as one’s own analysis and critique.
Students will participate in a final project critique, in which they will voice their own analysis and critique of their and their peer’s work.
9.4.12.A. Evaluate an individual’s philosophical statement on a work in the arts and its relationship to one’s own life based on knowledge and experience.
The students will be asked to reflect on their own identity and lived experiences, and evaluate their work and artist statement based off of their identity.
CC.1.4.11-12.A Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately.
Students will be asked to write an artist statement and reflection on the processes of making a piece that conveys their unique identity.
Objectives:
Students will list and label parts of their identity to begin thinking about their overall identity.
Students will explain their reasoning behind their artistic choices and how it reflects their identity.
Students will create a lit vessel with more than 5 areas for light to shine through, this vessel will house a light that can be put in and removed.
Students will reflect on the processes of thinking and creating an idea based off their own experiences, rather than creating an idea found online.
Students will create a vessel with the craftsmanship of artists, their lantern will be structurally sound, no excess clay particles, no broken pieces, etc.
Assessment:
Assessment tools are attached under supplementary materials
Pre-assessment
The pre-assessment will be used in the very beginning of the project. The identity discussion and worksheet will show where the students are beginning to think about their identity and ways in which they explain it.
Formative assessments
The formative assessments will be through the sketch sheet, class discussions, and exit tickets. These will show where the student is and how they are thinking through the project.
Summative assessment
The summative assessment will be found through the final rubric, self-evaluation, and artist statement of the piece. Together this culminates in the variety of discussion the class has had about identity and the final piece the student has made throughout the project.
Instructional Procedures
Day 1
Motivation or Engagement:
Students will be asked to take a Buzzfeed personality quiz. This quiz in particular gives a color palette based on their results. The students will be asked to take note of their quiz results and talk with a neighbor if they believe their results match them.
Development:
The students will be given a worksheet to begin listing parts of their identity. After the Buzzfeed quiz and discussion, students will take the 16personalities test. They will note the results as well as their strengths and weaknesses on their worksheet. They will be asked to create an “I am” list of anything and everything that fits. This is to get their brains thinking about all the different aspects of who they are. The students will fill out the rest of the worksheet, listing personal, social, and cultural aspects of their identity, as well as their core values, interests/dislikes, and personality.
Once the worksheet has been filled out, the students will be asked to talk with their table groups about identity.
What is identity, what makes it up, how is it formed, and how is it presented to others?
They will be asked to consider if their quiz results were accurate, what aspects of their identity is most important to them, or aspects that they feel that society pushes on them.
Culmination or Closer:
The rest of the class period will be for the students to finish up any remaining projects or to begin circling ideas or aspects of their identity from the worksheet to brainstorm ideas and symbols.
Day 2
Motivation or Engagement:
The Soul Lantern project will be introduced to the class. The students will be asked to think about what symbols, shapes, or aspects of their appearance represent themselves. They will spend two minutes drawing a small self-portrait and discuss these important aspects with a neighbor.
Development:
The project slides will go over the objective and requirements of the lantern, as well as introduce artists and ways of thinking to the students. Artists like Kukuli Velarde, Jaimie Okuma, and Maya Caulfield take traditional forms, patterns, and techniques and build upon them to create something that is uniquely theirs. These artists were chosen in hopes to show the students that it is possible to take inspiration from others and history in ways that are not copy and paste. Nicholas Oh’s work Chinkstugi showcases how an artist can reflect how the world sees them and to combat the stereotypes that they are put in to. Roberto Lugo’s work showcases how personal experiences shape how he views the world.
The objective of the project will be reintroduced and the students will be shown ceramic lanterns to get them thinking about the negative space and the way light and shadows are cast.
Culmination or Closer:
The rest of the block will be spent working on sketches and gathering ideas for their lantern. The students will be asked not to use Pinterest to generate ideas, rather focusing on parts of their identity and how to convey it. As the students sketch, the instructor will talk with each student about their first ideas and ways they can push it more.
Day 3
Motivation or Engagement:
The students will be asked to pull up photos of their previous work and submit them to a file on classroom. If the instructor has access to the photos beforehand, they can pull out one or two pieces of each student. The instructor will show these photographs to the class, where they can guess who made what and how each piece was made.
Development:
After seeing each piece, the students should have gone through a few building techniques. The instructor will introduce a building with bits, throwing and altering, and slab templates to the students. These techniques are all based off prior knowledge, but re-iterating them to show students that they can combine and push the techniques they know to make things they thought were difficult.
The rest of the block will be spent working on their sketch sheets and having 1:1 meetings with the instructor to discuss their ideas and possible building techniques.
Culmination or Closer:
In the last few minutes of class, students will complete the “Just By Looking at Me” activity. The students will come together in a circle and share answers to the template of “My name is _____ and I am from ____. One thing you can’t tell by just looking at me is _____. This is important for me to tell you because….” The students can choose to share anything, but the instructor will set the tone by first responding.
The students will be asked what they think the value in learning about their peers or others is.
Day 4
Motivation or Engagement:
The students will be shown the ESPN ad following a white man named Michael Jordan. They will also be shown a few names and will be asked to think about the person it belongs to. The students will be asked to think about what is in a name and how someone’s name influences our perceptions of them.
In preparation for the closing activity, the students will be asked to text their parents or to find the meaning behind their names. Does it have meaning in another language? Were they named after a friend, family member, or character? The students will be asked to write these answers down, as well as answer what their name means to them, and how has their name impacted their life experiences. This can include full names, middle names, hyphenated names, nicknames, etc.
Development:
The students sketch sheets are due at the beginning of class, so that the instructor may have a final 1:1 meeting to discuss their ideas and techniques. The goal of these 1:1 meetings is to push the students out of their creative comfort zones, and to help them make their best and ambitious projects. The rest of the day will be spent as a work day.
Culmination or Closer:
The students will come together and share their full names, as well as it’s origins, what it means to them, and how their name may have impacted their life experiences. After sharing, the students will be asked if they had any assumptions about anyone’s names before this activity.
Day 5
Motivation or Engagement:
Throughout the room there will be signs for race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, first language, religion, appearance, physical ability, mental illness, socioeconomic status, education, and age. The students will be prompted and asked to move closest to the identity that they think fits the most with the prompt.
“This is the identity….”
that I know the most about
I tend to keep hidden
I most like to share with others
that I think most people judge me by
that brings me the most pain
that I know the least about
that I have most in common with my friends
I am most unsure how to talk about
I believe is the most important to me right now in this moment
The students will be asked to briefly share why they chose that marker.
Development:
The students will spend the day working on their lanterns, the instructor will spend time talking with each student to check in with them.
Culmination or Closer:
Students will be given an exit ticket after the opening activity. The exit ticket will ask what it was like to chose only one identity from around the room, and if anyone else’s selection surprise them. The students will be asked to respond to the questions and hand in the ticket before leaving for the day.
Day 6
Motivation or Engagement:
The students will be given a list of prompts and asked to respond with a thumbs up, down, or sideways. This activity is to help students examine their perspectives and consider why others may think differently than them.
The high school is welcoming to people of all racial backgrounds.
The high school is welcoming to people of different sexuality or genders.
Most of the students in my classes are of the same race as me.
People are mostly good.
Sexism or racism is a problem at the high school.
The high school is a diverse community.
People assume things about me because of the way I look.
After each statement, the students will be asked to briefly share why they responded the way they did.
Development:
The students will spend the day working on their lanterns, the instructor will spend time talking with each student to check in with them.
Culmination or Closer:
Students will be given an exit ticket after the opening activity. The exit ticket will ask which statements were the hardest to respond to and why. The students will be asked to respond to the questions and hand in the ticket before leaving for the day.
Day 7
Motivation or Engagement:
The students will be given a series of prompts and will be asked to raise their hands if the statement is true for them. Some of these statements are personal, students will be encouraged to be bold and truthful, but if there is a statement that they really don’t wish to disclose they do not have to.
I am/have…
the youngest/middle/oldest/only child
adopted
raised by a single parent/my grandparents/a same-gender couple
went to public/private/homeschool
multiracial
identify as LGBTQIA
struggled to define my sexual orientation or gender identity
have a visible/non-visible disability
gotten therapy for mental health
felt discriminated against
worry that I may have discriminated against someone
felt uneasy in diversity/identity conversations
sometimes feel like I don’t belong/fit in at the highschool
Development:
The students will spend the day working on their lanterns, the instructor will spend time talking with each student to check in with them.
Culmination or Closer:
Students will be given an exit ticket after the opening activity. The exit ticket will how did it feel to raise your hand and be joined by others, or how did it feel to be alone? The students will be asked to respond to the questions and hand in the ticket before leaving for the day.
Day 8
Motivation or Engagement:
The students will be asked to get out their original sketch sheet as well as their lantern. If possible, the instructor will fit each lantern with a light and the class will do a very short gallery walk to see the sketch to final product.
Development:
After the gallery walk, the students will be asked to write down one thing they can learn about the artist by looking at the piece they created. They will go around the room and write this for each piece, taking a minute at each work.
The group will then come back together for a class critique, with the critique guide to help them move past the “I like” statements.
Culmination or Closer:
The students will be asked to fill out a self evaluation and reflection for their piece. This will include an artist’s statement detailing why they chose to use certain techniques or symbols throughout the work. Students will explain their reasoning behind their artistic choices and how it reflects their identity. They will also reflect on what it was like creating a piece from their own experiences rather than using Pinterest, does the piece have more meaning or value to them?
STUDENT EXAMPLES
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
These slides include any items needed to be presented to the class. This includes the initial identity discussion, project introduction, “What’s in a Name?” activity.
The exit tickets will be used throughout the project to collect student reflections and answers.
The final project will be graded through a student self evaluation, an artist statement, and this rubric.
Student Supplies
There are many tools within the ceramics room for student success, such as clay, glaze, and ceramic tools.
Needed materials are:
LED tea lights
lamp accessory attachments
Considerations for Modifications and/or Adaptions
Should a student finish early, they may work on personal and side projects. As this is a Studio class, they have the techniques and resources needed to create anything they’d want.
Should a student need more time, they may come in for study halls or during after school hours. If a problem arises, and the student needs more support they must talk with the instructor and make a plan together.
Teacher Research and Preparation:
https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/identity-charts-0
https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/exploring-concept-identity
https://www.tustinceramics.com/identity.html
https://www.jokuma.com/gallery?lightbox=dataItem-k11ms4jv
https://mixedasianmedia.com/hapa-mag-issue-003/interview-maya-caulfield
https://www.mirkaart.com/blog/2017/9/20/expressing-identity-through-art
https://www.kukulivelarde.com/portfolio/plunder/
https://www.robertolugostudio.com/work?itemId=zaktcptmn7ypj689unxozcikutazkl
