Painted Pinch Pots

Funded Sep 7, 2022

The students were overjoyed to be working with clay. They were allowed to play with the material to get to know the feeling of the clay and how to work with it. They were instructed how to use their hands and fingers to form a "pinch pot," first rolling the clay into a ball and than using fingers to pinch and shape the ball into a bowl shape that was then raised to become a pot. The students were extremely proud of their work and were truly fascinated by the all possibilities that their ball of clay could become. In one of the classrooms we the used extra clay to support their understanding of CA geography by making a topographical map. In another classroom we adapted the project to make clay calaveras which connected the art project to the culture of a majority of my students.

We stored the clay in lockers after it was molded. We painted our pinch pots and the students loved it. The students learned about complimentary and contrasting colors. There are students who for the first time, really shined with their combinations of paint and the details that they put into their art work. I was extremely proud with how engaged they were and how much effort they put into their projects. We will continue to expand on what we learned with the clay and the painting of the clay as we make our next painting projects in this new year.

Thank you so much for making this project possible.”

With gratitude,

Mr. Morris