Students create themed vessels that hint at the treasures placed within.

Corinna Stone

Students wanted to tell me about their family recipe book and a ring from a beloved grandmother. They created beautiful drawings and paintings of that grandmother or the precious item. After that unit, it was a theme I started to explore in my art, specifically in sculpture. I make vessels to house my heirlooms to provide protection. The form or decoration of the sculpture often indicates what kind of treasure is held within.

This year, I decided to revisit the unit with my sculpture students. I work at a Catholic high school, and I invited our president and Jesuit priest to join us for the introduction of the unit. He shared a chalice and plate housed in a box that was given to him by the family of a fellow priest. The items are actually referred to as vessels, which linked nicely to our project.

Students again shared personal items that they treasured and contemplated how their items connected to their family, school, and friends. Using clay and other techniques, students made a wide variety of vessels, from a piggy bank to hold coins from a grandfather to a sunken treasure box to hold a megalodon tooth. One student made a miniature city salt box covered in Baltimore “stickers” to hold his class ring. Each sculpture made important connections to its makerʼs personal life and was carved, added to, and painted in a way that related to what was inside.

While this wasnʼt a slab unit, about half of students chose the slab technique to create their vessels. All pieces were bisque-fired. Some students glazed, while others used watercolor, mason stains, or acrylic.

As students worked, we made a great discovery. While they were making vessels to house family heirlooms, they were creating a new family heirloom—their sculptures.

On my list of treasured items, I have my father’s art and my own art. Artists keep important pieces in a sturdy portfolio or frame them and hang them on the wall to keep them safe. My hope is that these vessels and what is inside will be treasured for generations to come.

Corinna Stone is an art teacher at Loyola Blakefield in Towson, Maryland. cstone@loyolablakefield.org; IG: @blakefieldvisualarts

Family Heirloom Vessels: Sculptures Inspired by Cherished Memories