Name_________________________________ Period______

Ceramic Clay Shoe Rubric

Objectives:
• Choose a preexisting fictional character OR make up your own to design a shoe for!
(Consider childhood book characters, characters in cartoons or comics, super heroes or
villains, characters in movies or TV shows, etc.) IMPORTANT: DO NOT copy a character’s
shoe if a visual reference of it exists. I am interested in YOUR original design.
• Make a sketch of your shoe design for your character; show two different perspectives of your
shoe: front perspective, side perspective, and bird’s eye perspective.
• Shoe design MUST include a minimum of at least three clay attachments that are details of
the shoe specific for your character. For example, a lightning bolt attached to a shoe
designed for Harry Potter.
• Start with clay: roll out slab for sole of shoe; use needle tool to draw and cut out shape of sole
(use the bottom of your own shoe or stencil templates for reference). Slab must be 1/4 inch
thick.
• Use slabs to build your shoe piece by piece; use slip/score/blend technique to ensure each
piece of your sculpture is well connected. Do not forget about your three details to include
specific for your character. Every part of the shoe should be 1/4 inch thick.
• As your shoe becomes three-dimensional, you can stuff wadded up paper towel inside your
shoe to maintain its structure.
• Smooth out any cracks in your shoe by using your moistened fingers, a damp sponge, or a
wooden blending tool.
• Store your shoe in a SEALED plastic bag until it is finished.
• Once fired, paint or glaze your shoe according to what your chosen character would wear
using a minimum of three colors, three coats of each color.
Concept Exceeds (4) Meets (3) Approaching (2) Experiencing
Difficulty (1)

Shape/ Perfectly shaped; well shaped; some areas unstable or lumpy;

Construction 1/4 inch thickness; stable; no cracks misshaped; some fairly cracked; clay
stable; no cracks cracks not smoothed out

Unique Ideas/ Unique design; Two details added One detail added Little to no attempt
Design Three or more specific to your specific to your to add detail;
details added character; fairly character; unrecognizable
specific to your creative; perhaps unoriginal idea.
character; very borrowed ideas
creative - original from a peer.

Features/ 3 or more features 2 features 1 feature present; No extra features

Attachment attached very well attached fairly well; not properly present or not
to the sole of the stable; no cracks attached. attached properly
shoe; smooth and fell off
seams; stable

Painting/Glazing Perfectly painted/ Well glazed; Somewhat poorly Poorly painted/

glazed; all areas missed one spot glazed; missed glazed; messy
covered with at with glaze or only several spots;
least 3 coats of 3 used two colors. used less than
colors of glaze three colors.

Student Reflections:

What I did well on this piece was

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This piece was a challenge because

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One thing that I will remember for next time is

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I designed my shoe for this fictional character

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I have included these details on my shoe to show that my

shoe is designed for my fictional character:
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Total Points: ______

15-16 = A
13-14 = B
12 = C
10-11= D
0-9 = F