Ms Andi Tenri Elle Hapsari
Grade 1, 2 & 3 Art Teacher
Our Grade 3 students focused on Science and Creativity by visiting the Ceramic House Garden at F. Widayanto’s Depok Gallery. From there, students learned firsthand how soil can be changed into something beautiful and useful with science as the process.
Upon arriving, students were already excited by the green scenery that the place has to offer. They were lining up nicely and accordingly to listen to the guide’s speech as they entered the garden that was filled with beautiful ceramics. Not only that, students were also pleased to find the welcome snacks before the tour began.
Donuts and juices were nicely prepared on each table where all the students felt the welcoming ambiance and relaxing mood to start their learning experience. Then they were guided and taught more about each spot in the garden. First, they visited the Gallery Shop, which sells a lot of functional and decorative ceramic products. Our students loved it and were very eager to buy.
Next were the houses that can be rented for the night, uniquely designed by F. Widayanto. One of them is also being used as the place to showcase his masterpiece artworks and books that tell more about his journey as the most prominent Indonesian ceramist.
The last place, which was up in the hill, was a big pendopo, or a hall, which holds lots of long tables with benches that welcomed students to join the clay-making workshop. Each one of them got a block of clay and many molds ready for use. But before they could start, the guide explained more about the process and how to make the clay using the mold. To see who was listening to the explanation attentively, the guide asked afew questions and those who could answer it correctly got ceramic necklaces. Students were competitively answering the questions and 5 students won the prizes. They were Alexander Boenjamin from 3H who was able to answer that there are 4 types of clay in Indonesia, then Raja Putra Arjuna Rafli from 3T told that it needed 16 hours to burn the clay inside the kiln, followed by an answer from William Suryapranata from 3I that said it took 1200°C to burn the clay into ceramic, and also 2 others, Avarro Moretti Fachry from 3H and Mclarry Chinoso Chimezie from 3I who also answered the questions correctly.
As the workshop began, students were creatively molding their clay into different products. Some even create their own products such as cup, bowl, and plate without using the mold tools. After making the clay for around 2 hours, students were pleased to enjoy their lunch that was served in the garden. After lunch was their favorite free time where they could visit the gallery shop and bring the ceramics home. Others also used their time to play in the lovely garden before heading back to school. Visiting F. Widayanto Ceramic Gallery Garden was a great experience for both students and teachers. They learnt that as a great visual merchandiser, F. Widayanto was able to find the perfect balance between science and creativity ahead of time from other ceramists. It made him think outside the box and be an inspiration for all of us. So it’s not only about talented in art, but how he showed effort in practice over and over again and combined it with knowledge of science to be able to create lovely ceramics presentations to the world.
