Say What You Need to Say in Bas-Relief

Day 1

1. Show students the image of the Maya Stela. Conduct a critical examination and ask if they see any clues that might tell us what the object is made from, who may have made it, where it’s from, and what its age might be.
2. Share with students the information from About the Art. Point out that the Maya word for artist translates to “wise man” or “sage” and discuss thoughts on why this might be so. Note that at this time only a small number of people, the ruling elite and artists, could read and write.
3. Point out the information in the “Details” section of About the Art and identify those things on the Stela.
4. Discuss how this artifact tells the story of a powerful Maya ruler. List the ways that we can “read” this information on the object, such as: in the translation of the hieroglyphs, the stance the man takes, the action he chose to have portrayed, the symbols and clothing he chose to be surrounded by, the choice of room depicted in the work, and also where it was displayed.
5. Artifacts such as this tell a story. Have students imagine the artifacts from our society that future archeologists will find. What will they say about us? How might they interpret our artifacts? Can they think of any objects that could lead to a misinterpretation of our time or culture?
6. Ask students to imagine how they would portray their stories in a stela for future generations. Start by asking: What is your story? How would you like to be remembered? What are some of your accomplishments? Let them take a few minutes to think this through and write thoughts on a piece of sketch paper.
7. Have students sketch ideas of how these things could be visually represented.
8. Tell students they will be carving their own clay stelas, and have them sketch out a rough draft of what their stela might look like. They could ask a neighbor to pose so as to capture the intended stance of their representation.
9. Review what was learned from the Maya Stela and note how the artist used negative space to call attention to his designs. Encourage students to think about the positive and negative spaces in their story sketches. What areas will be left raised and what will be removed? Have them lightly shade in the areas that they will remove. They might wish to consider a design with several layers of depth. Shade each of those layers in a different shade. This will help as they begin the bas-relief carving the next day.

Day 2

1. Review what students learned about the Maya Stela in the previous class and have them share their stela drawings with a partner.
2. Today, each student will create a bas-relief sculpture in clay displaying their own personal story. Make sure work areas are covered with plastic or paper and that each student has clay and access to clay tools.
3. Have students create a slab of clay about two inches thick.
4. They should draw their stela design on the slab using a needle tool or a toothpick.
5. Tell students to use clay carving or loop tools to remove the negative space (the space they shaded in on their drawings) around the designs that they choose to leave positive.
6. When finished, let the clay dry flat or fire the pieces in a kiln. Cover loosely with plastic so that the clay dries slowly and will be less likely to curl or crack.

• Sketch paper for each student
• Pencils for each student
• Approximately one pound of clay for each student, type dependent on capabilities of the facilities
• Color copies of the image for students to share, or the ability to project the image onto a wall or screen
• Clay carving tools or loop tools, needle tools, or toothpicks
• Rolling pins, for every 3-5 students
• Plastic or paper to cover tables
• About the Art section on the Stela