Chiwaukee/Washburn Academy | Alex Mandli | Saggar Fired and Pit Fired Pottery

The Chiwaukee Academy and Washburn Academy, cooperative efforts between nine Wisconsin school districts and the University of Wisconsin, provide professional staff development of PK-12 educators in all subject areas. Hands-on learning is emphasized to help teachers engage students in collaborative problem-solving and higher-order thinking.

Alex Mandli presented week-long workshops entitled Play, Clay, and Fire: Primitive Pit-Firing Techniques for Any Classroom K-12 for a group of educators at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. From regular education teachers without an art specialist or a kiln to high school art teachers looking to involve their students, every aspect of pottery making and the pit-firing process was covered. With play as the method of learning and discovery, participants created, decorated, and fired their own pottery. They studied the pottery of ancient cultures, and observed, recorded, and evaluated their journey through this process.

Comments by workshop participants had high praise for Alex and the content of the workshop.

This workshop was excellent! I want to take it again if Alex Mandli is the presenter. I learned a lot and will apply it in my classroom.

This has been the most enriching workshop I have taken. It helped me grow as a teacher and I can use all of the techniques learned with my students.

Alex was so well prepared. He had enough information to cover two weeks of class work. I would love to take this class again and continue from the point I stopped and learn more.

The workshop was equally valuable for an art specialist as well as a non-art specialist. Alex Mandli was extremely informative and able to help all that asked for help.