Birds in A Nest

This project is all about TEXTURE! I start by talking to students about how each of the items would feel in real life and how completely different the textures are- feathers, eggs & a nest.  Then we use tools to see how we can get our one material, to have 3 different textures based on how we treat the surface of the clay.
The nest is made first creating an over-sized pinch pot, just like we made for the Ice Cream Bowl Project and I used a fork to create the rough texture.  The bird is made using two small pinch pots and scratch-to-attaching them together, blending the seam and then adding all of the parts. I used a wooden knife to cut feathers into the surface and then smoothed the cut marks with my fingers.  Students can make as many eggs as they like for their nest.  Small eggs can be made by rolling spheres of clay and then pinching the tops to be slightly pointy, they can be smoothed with fingers.  I encourage students to experiment with tools to play with their textures and that it is more important to have 3 unique textures rather than the realistic texture of the object.