Textured Turtles

These turtles are a great lesson in texture and pattern.  Start by rolling out a long snake or coil of clay, about 15-18 inches long and about as thick as a pencil.  Scratch the entire length of the coil and then wrap it up into a spiral shape blending in the end piece.  You can smooth out the spiral design or leave it there, this piece will be the turtle shell.  Next roll out another snake of clay the same thickness but only about 6-8 inches long.  Cut this snake of clay up into 6 pieces; 4 for the legs, 1 for the head and 1 for the tail.  You can shape them with your hands as needed.  Scratch the ends of each of your pieces and the belly of the turtle shell and attach them on.  HINT:  Make sure to overlap the pieces when you attach them on to have a larger surface area of attaching, so don't attach them edge to edge, they'll be more likely to break off when you move them in and out of the kiln.  You can now add on a face to your turtle and start to decorate the back of the shell with a pattern using tools. This is a perfect ocean week lesson! You'll need to dry, bisque fire, glaze and glaze fire all the pieces for them to be finished.