An enthusiastic group of Lowell Public Schools (LPS) teachers has been getting creative with clay at Middlesex Community College and learning how to introduce their students to the ancient tradition of Cambodian ceramics.
Since January, 17 LPS teachers have been meeting weekly in MCC’s Lowell-campus Ceramics Studio and making clay animal sculptures, masks and pottery as part of a professional-development workshop. Titled “Teaching Cambodian Ceramics,” the workshop is co-taught by LPS art teacher Jacqui Miller with Lowell artist and MCC Ceramics Instructor Yary Livan, one of the few masters of traditional Cambodian ceramics to survive the Pol Pot genocide.
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Livan and Miller are “teaching the teachers” via the 14-week workshop, offered through the Lowell Teachers Academy. It is funded by a two-year, $40,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The grant is designed to support preservation, understanding and appreciation of the endangered Cambodian ceramic tradition, and to encourage a new generation of practicing Cambodian ceramists.
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While creating their own artwork, the teachers have been learning about traditional Cambodian forms and ornamentation techniques. They are also studying Cambodian culture and history via an online seminar. Throughout the semester, the elementary, middle and high school teachers have been developing units of study in Cambodian ceramics to bring back to their own classrooms next fall.
The LPS teachers recently fired their artwork, under Livan’s supervision, in MCC’s smokeless, wood-fired Cambodian ceramics kiln, constructed on the grounds of Lowell National Historical Park.
MCC’s NEA grant will also support a major exhibition of Livan’s work – as well as juried work by teachers and students – to be organized as part of a Cambodian New Year celebration next spring.
For more info about MCC’s ceramics courses or the National Endowment for the Arts grant, contact Art Professor Margaret Rack at rackm@middlesex.mass.edu.
MCC is one of the largest, most comprehensive community colleges in the state. We offer more than 75 degree and certificate programs, plus hundreds of noncredit courses, during the day, evening and weekend, on our Bedford and Lowell campuses, and online. Middlesex – a great place to begin your future!
