Sculpting the Future

Funded Dec 24, 2011

Where to begin?

Our clay experience was a rousing success! For children whose exposure to the arts and creating artwork is limited, especially in the realm of 3 dimensional art, this was an eye opening experience for many of my students. For most, just getting their hands into the clay was the highlight of the project. After I began to explain the processes necessary to prepare the clay (wedging), many of my students spent almost the whole period simply working with the clay. More than one student had to be encouraged to actually create their project!

I chose to work on 3 different aspects of clay with 3 grade levels. With 3rd Grade, we focused on making a pinch pot. We added a 'snake' to create a bird head, using an additive method. I added some holes on the opposite side of the bowl, and after firing, we added some small feathers. The students loved our Pinch Pot Peacocks!

4th and 5th grade both worked with a slab method, but developed different techniques. 4th grade created fish and used various found tools to add texture as well as additive features such as eyes. This was a challenge for the students, especially adding texture and features without going completely through the slab.

5th grade make "Speaking Hands". This slab method had students trace their hand, cut away excess, then work with slip and water to manipulate the fingers into different positions.

I cannot adequately express how thrilled my students were, how impatient they were to wait on the firing process, and how excited and proud they were to handle their very own sculpture. This project has been a rousing success, and would not have been possible without your very generous participation. I hope you enjoy the pictures, and please feel free to contact me regarding these projects. We love sharing with our friends!

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With gratitude,

Ms. McDaniel