Hello! Today I am going to catch up on some of the clay projects my students have been working on. The last few weeks we have been busy learning clay techniques, building and glazing. We weren’t able to use regular clay for the past year since the kiln was out of commission, so my students were itching to work with clay!
The 5th/6th grade classes made Clay Castles.
We connected a clay unit to their study of the Middle Ages. In social studies class they have been studying the Medieval Period. The kids learned about clay building techniques including rolling slabs, making coils, securing and attaching parts and painting with clay glazes.
The 4th graders made Clay Bobble Heads.
I found this idea on the Art Teacher Facebook group. They learned how to make pinch pot heads and bodies from slabs. They were painted with acrylic paints. Aren’t they totally adorable?
The 3rd graders made Clay Masks.
They have been learning about Africa in their Social Studies class. We looked at a variety of African masks and discussed the characteristics and meanings of this art form. The kids then drew their own masks. After drawing their design, they made masks from clay by rolling slabs, cutting out parts and attaching the parts. Masks were painted with acrylic paints.
Love these clay projects! I make bobbleheads with my 2nd graders, and they always turn out so adorable. I never would have thought to make the bodies out of slabs (we make ours out of pinch pots). What a great idea to introduce two different hand building techniques.