KASARGOD: In a collaborative effort, Adoor Government Higher Secondary School (GHSS), in Delampady panchayat, Kasaragod, and the artist collective, Trespassers, will host a camp at the school, on Thursday, where hexagonal clay tiles crafted by students will undergo the firing process in a kiln to achieve their final, hardened form.
This is expected to provide students with practical experience in tile-making through direct engagement with the heating process, under the guidance and instruction of collaborating artists.
The tiles will then be installed on the wall at the school entrance, creating the largest clay tile-decorated mural crafted by students in the state. Around 300 students are expected to attend the camp.
“This camp will offer students the opportunity to move beyond theoretical learning and engage in the hands-on practice of tile making, all within a safe environment and under the direct supervision and guidance of artists of the Trespassers collective. A proper kiln will be made using bricks, and tiles made by students will be heated by explaining to them the process,” Vishnu Priyan K, art teacher at Adoor GHSS, said.
The brick kiln will be constructed with strategically placed removable bricks, allowing students to observe firsthand the colour transformation of tiles during the firing process. Additionally, students will also learn how to construct a kiln, arrange tiles inside it, and regulate its temperature.
After being converted to terracotta, the tiles will adorn the school’s 8.30m-long, 1.66m-wide front wall.
In October, school students had made around 460 hexagonal clay tiles, adorned with designs of their choice. Each tile measures 11cm on all sides. The tiles were then dried at room temperature.
Vishnu Priyan added that one of the main challenges involving clay tiles is that they have to be dried with care, as they risk cracking. “It took us one month to dry all the tiles. The school PTA will also help guide students at the camp,” he said.