Drying Time

Ceramic Gargoyles from Mrs. Hall's class...in the drying process...

Gargoyles are widely believed to have been sculpted and placed on 14th and 15th Century monuments, churches and cathedrals to ward off evil spirits.  However, this isn't the case.  Originally, gargoyles (derived from the French word gargouille...'from the throat') were sculpted by stone masons and used by architects as gutters.  Yep...gutters.  A series of gargoyles would be strategically placed to divert water away from the foundations of these large architectural monuments, thus ensuring that the foundations would not erode and wear down.

Today, most gargoyles are created and used as decoration and ornamentation, usually a nod to their art historical roots.  My 5th graders spent a few weeks learning about the history of gargoyles and then created their own 'water spitter' utilizing slabs, pinch pots, coils, and hand building techniques with ceramic clay.  These wonderful creations will take a few weeks to dry completely and then it is my plan to have them glaze them once they've been fired in the kiln.