Molding Meaning: Jim McDowell’s Social Ceramics and Expressing Our Identities
Help me give my students different shades of clay and multi-colored glaze to represent the different facets of their personalities.
FULLY FUNDED! Ms. Bauman's classroom raised $775
This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Project
Just as Jim McDowell uses the physical qualities of clay and surface texture to communicate powerful social narratives, students can use different colored clays and glazes to build vessels that are not just objects but visual stories of layered identity and activism.
Like Jim McDowell, my students' ceramics will feature figurative elements, faces, and symbolic motifs that tell stories about their life, struggles, and triumphs.
By portraying these narratives, he raised awareness about his own racial inequality and the ongoing fight for justice. Encouraging students to respond artistically — like making their own ceramics — gives them a powerful outlet to explore and express their voices.
High school is a key time when my students are actively shaping their sense of self, values, and worldview. Engaging with McDowell’s work encourages them to reflect on their own identities and social experiences, including issues representation. The art room is an especially safe place for my students to feel supported to express all of this. Learning about social justice through art can inspire students to use their voices.
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Bauman and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
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