Landscapes in Clay

Creating 3-D landscapes in clay is a perfect opportunity to teach students about perspective and scale in art.  I make sure that my students understand what the background, middle-ground, foreground and horizon line using photographs or paintings as examples to identify each of these.  I have students cut out a large circle or square of clay that is about 3/8ths of an inch thick and about 8-10" across.  Fold the shape so that one side is perpendicular to the table.  The clay might be a little wobbly, so you can support it with a box or tool jar behind the clay until it dries enough to support itself.  Then using the extra clay, students create the background elements of their landscape. In this example, I created a moon, stars and mountains.  Then add pieces onto the middle-ground and then the foreground.  Remind students that if they have something in their landscape that moves between each of the planes, that they have to change its size accordingly.  So in this case, I have a river that starts at the mountains and runs all the way off the edge of my clay, so the river starts off thin and small and then gradually gets wider.  I challenge them to include at least 3 items in each plane of their landscape.  Also remember to scratch-to-attach all of your parts on well.  Students can theme your landscapes around a holiday, current curriculum or other worldly landscapes! Dry your pieces, bisque fire, glaze and fire again.

!!!B CR8IV!!!