All merit badges
Requirements
NOTE: The official merit badge pamphlets are now free and downloadable HERE or can be purchased at the Scout Shop.
1.
Explain to your counselor the precautions that must be followed for the safe use and operation of a potter's tools, equipment, and other materials.
Resource:
6 Steps to a Safe Pottery Studio (video)2.
Do the following:
(a)
Explain the properties and ingredients of a good clay body for the following:
(1)
Making sculpture using the hand-building method
(2)
Throwing on the wheel
(b)
Tell how three different kinds of potter's wheels work.
3.
Make two drawings of pottery forms, each on an 8½-by-11-inch sheet of paper. One must be a historical pottery style. The other must be of your own design.
4.
Explain the meaning of the following pottery terms: bat, wedging, throwing, leather hard, bone dry, greenware, bisque, terra-cotta, grog, slip, score, earthenware, stoneware, porcelain, pyrometric cone, and glaze.
5.
Do the following: Each piece is to be painted, glazed, or otherwise decorated by you.
(a)
Make a slab pot, a coil pot, and a pinch pot.
(b)
Make a human or animal figurine or decorative sculpture.
(c)
Throw a functional form on a potter's wheel.
(d)
Help an experienced adult to load and fire a kiln OR describe in detail how to load and fire a kiln.
6.
Explain the scope of the ceramic industry in the United States. Tell some things made other than craft pottery.
Resource:
What Are Ceramics? (website)7.
With your parent or guardian's permission and your counselor's approval, do ONE of the following:
Complete 1 of the following
(a)
Visit the kiln yard at a local college or other craft school. Learn how the different kinds of kilns work, including low fire electric, gas or propane high fire, wood or salt/soda, and raku.
Resource:
Types of Kilns (website)Counselor approval required
(b)
Visit a museum, art exhibit, art gallery, artists' co-op, or artist's studio that features pottery. After your visit, share with your counselor what you have learned.
Resource:
Ceramics in the US (website)Counselor approval required
(c)
Using resources from the library, magazines, the internet (with your parent or guardian's permission), and other outlets, learn about the historical and cultural importance of pottery. Share what you discovered with your counselor.
Counselor approval required
8.
Find out about career opportunities in pottery. Pick one and find out the education, training, and experience required for this profession. Discuss this with your counselor, and explain why this profession might interest you.