High School Studio Lesson
GARGOYLES,
GROTESQUES,
& CHIMERAS
Gargoyles, grotesques, and chimeras are scary, mythi- cal (and sometimes humor- ous) creatures that have
functional, decorative, and spiritual
significance in medieval architecture. This is the right kind of stuff to
capture the interest of my ceramics
students.
When developing a lesson surrounding these creatures, the first
order of business was to provide some
historical background, so we looked
at medieval cathedrals that used these
elements in their architecture. The
most famous example is Notre Dame
de Paris.
make. They began thinking of combinations of animal body parts that
could be mixed together to create new
creatures. Photocopies of the various
creatures discussed were used for reference as students made sketches.
form a head, starting with smaller
pieces of clay. Once the head and body
were connected, students added legs,
ears, tails, wings, and other parts.
Each gargoyle or chimera started taking on its own personality. Serrated
ribs and assorted modeling tools were
used to add texture. Some students
chose to add bases to their sculptures.
Understanding Gargoyles
and Chimeras
My students were in awe when they
learned that gargoyles were designed
as spouts to convey water from
rooftops. They loved the idea that
grotesques and chimeras were used
as sculpture, ornamentation, or architectural supports. The chimera, a fire-breathing female monster with a lion’s
head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s
tail, was a particularly popular source
for inspiration.
We discussed the fact that all of
these mythical creatures served a similar purpose: to protect people from
evil or harmful spirits.
After this introduction, students
were asked to decide just what kind of
mythical creature they were going to
Creating Gargoyles and Chimeras
Students next explored approaches
for building gargoyles and chimeras. I demonstrated how two pinch
pots could be combined to create a
rounded body form, then distributed
large cubes of clay. Students were
given two pieces of clay about the
same size and made each into a pinch
pot. They shaped
each piece into
balls, pushed their
thumbs deep into
them, and began
pinching and rotating the clay (
starting at the base and
working towards
the top), using the
thumb and index finger. Students were
directed to make the walls an even
thickness and to keep the pinch pots
similar in size.
Next, both pinch pots were scored,
slipped, and carefully fused together
to form an egg shape. Students used
their fingers or modeling tools to
smooth a narrow coil of clay into
the seam between the two pots, and
tamped them with wooden paddles.
The same approach was used to
Creating Grotesque Faces
Students who chose to make grotesque
faces used a draping method of con-
struction. Newspaper was crumpled
and taped together to form an arma-
ture, then covered with a plastic bag
to prevent the clay
from drying out.
Thick slabs of clay
were rolled out and
then draped over
the form.
Facial fea-
tures were added
using thick clay
coils or by remov-
ing clay. Students used their fingers
to push clay from the back of the slab
to create raised cheeks, foreheads, and
chins.
After pieces were dried and fired,
acrylic paints were used to add color.
Many chose “muddied” shades of
white and gray. Black was applied with
brushes or damp sponges to create an
antique stone finish. Others chose
various dark colors such as black,
brown, and deep blues or greens.
Gargoyles, grotesques,
and chimeras are scary,
mythical creatures
that have functional,
decorative, and spiritual
significance in medieval
architecture.
