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ART 10 - Beginning Ceramics - Dawn Hart: Home

This research guide was created for students in D. Hart's Art-10 class.

ART 10 - Beginning Ceramics

Research Project

For this research project, you will be creating a presentation on your research of one of the following cultures and their different ways of creating ceramics over time. You will be randomly choosing a culture or ceramic art movement that includes 4 examples of that culture or movement. Using library research tools or independent research from primary or secondary sources, research each of the 4 examples.

Your research should include:

1. The type of clay the objects are made of, ie; porcelain, earthenware, stoneware etc.
2. The type of surface treatment the objects have and what it is made from.
3. What the surface decoration is based on or symbolic of.
4. And what the object is used for.

Primary Sources

Primary Source

Primary sources are original materials and first hand accounts of an event. They are typically created at the time the event took place.  Examples:

  • Letters, diaries, autobiographies, oral history, manuscripts
  • Speeches, personal narratives, interviews
  • Newspaper articles written at the time of the event; photographs
  • Government documents, hearings, reports, statistical data, trial transcripts
  • Original research (research studies published in academic journals)
  • Works of art, literature, music
  • Artifacts, tools, clothing, furniture, coins

Primary vs. Secondary Sources

Watch the video below to learn about the difference between primary and secondary sources.

Secondary Sources

Secondary Sources

Secondary sources are documents written after an event has occurred, providing secondhand accounts of that event, person, or topic. These sources interpret or analyze events. They are usually written by individuals who are at least one step removed from the event. Examples:

  • Scholarly or popular books
  • Reference books
  • Textbooks
  • News Reports
  • Encyclopedias
  • Journal Articles

While primary sources provide first-hand accounts, secondary sources offer different perspectives and conclusions of those accounts. Secondary sources can also provide background information and analysis of an event or work, and these sources can also give historical perspective based on other events that have taken place since the original event or work.