3-D Clay People

To begin this project I have students identify the names of basic 3-D shapes (sphere, cylinder, cube, pyramid, cone, rectangular prism & egg).   Then each student gets a small piece of clay to practice making all of these shapes using only their fingers and the flat surface of the table to make them.  Once everyone has practiced making each of these shapes we discuss how we can attach them together to create a person.  For example: a cone for a body, an egg for a head, cylinders for arms or legs, a cube to sit on to help them balance etc....  I give students more clay and allow them to make larger 3-D shapes and multiples of the shapes to start to build their sculpture.  Remember that all of the shapes need to be scratch-to-attached together or they will fall apart when the clay dries.  The shapes can also be given textures and patterns using tools to add details to your sculptures.  Challenge students to keep adding on parts using only these basic shapes. 

B CR8IV!

Mad Hatter Tea Cups

Inspired by Alice in Wonderland's the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, these cups are also a lesson in texture.  Students needed to create 3 different textures one for each of their cups, they could push texture in, add texture on or a combination of both.  I give lots of examples of texture before we start building.  


To make the cups, start by rolling out a slab of clay that is about 10" x 5" long and about 3/8th's of an inch thick.  You can give students a template for cutting out the basic rectangle or let them decide on the size. For these smaller cups, I cut out an arced rectangle that is about 8" long on the high side and 6" long on the bottom side x 2" tall.  The short edges of the rectangle need to be scratched and then it is wrapped up into a cylinder, attaching the edges together.  To create the bottom, you'll need another slab of clay.  If you have enough clay left over from your rectangle, use that, if not re-roll out all of your scrap pieces of clay.  Then take the cylinder and put it on top of the slab of clay and using a pointy tool or a knife, trace around the perimeter of the cylinder to get the exact size needed for the cup.  Once it's cut out, go ahead and scratch-to-attach it on, I find it's easier to do this when the cup is upside down or if you put on hand on the inside of the cylinder and connect it with the other hand on the outside.  HINT: Make sure that you don't leave any holes when your attaching the parts of the cylinder together--your tea will leak out!!  This creates a basic cup shape which could be used for a variety of projects but since we're making tea cups, the next step is to add a handle.  

Using the extra clay that you have, roll out a coil of clay that is about as thick as a pencil.  Fold the top of the coil over so that from the side it looks like half of a heart shape.  Scratch-to-attach the top and bottom of the heart shape and the top and bottom of your cup.  Press the handle on using your fingers on the inside and outside of your cup making sure it's secure. (Don't pick it up by the handle until its fired!!)   

Your cup is complete and you're ready to decorate with textures.  You can use the extra pieces of clay to create strips or polka dots to add on (remember to scratch-to-attach!) or you can use tools to push in the texture. Be sure to cover the entire surface of your cups.  

!!!B CR8IV!!!

Backgammon Game Board

Making your own game board and pieces in clay can be really fun.  This student chose to make a backgammon board but you could make checkers, chess, monopoly etc.

To make these game boards, start by rolling out a flat slab of clay that is about 3/8ths of an inch thick and the size that you would like your game board to be.  Next scratch up the entire surface of the clay with a fork or scoring tool.  Now start cutting out the shapes for your board pieces from the extra scraps of clay.  Scratch the backs of your shapes with a tool and begin attaching them onto the surface.  If you have large empty area, you can cut small shapes and attach them to fill those areas as a design rather than a playing area of the board.  Be sure to keep the thickness of your clay even as you attach them onto the base piece. Once all the spaces have been filled with shapes, let the game dry on a flat surface.  Now you have to build the pieces for your game, depending on what game you've chosen, they may need to be unique for each player or all similar as in checkers and backgammon.  Next, bisque fire all the pieces and board, then have students glaze only the surface of each of the shapes and the outside edge of the board NOT the spaces in-between, the grout will not stick to a glazed surface.  They should also glaze the pieces keeping color in mind if they need two teams of color or all the same.  Once the glaze firing is finished, mix up some grout in any color you'd like according to the package's instructions.  Be careful about not adding too much water to your grout, a little goes a long way!  Spread out some newspaper and give out plastic gloves to students--this will be messy!  I give students a handful of the grout and let them start pushing it into all of the spaces, I usually have to help everyone out a little bit to make sure they've packed it in tight and filled all the spaces.  Then have them rub the grout off of the tops of all of their shapes using just their hands to start with or a wooden clay tool can be helpful, then use a dry paper towel to start to wipe the surfaces clean.  Once the grout has dried a bit, you can go over the surface with a damp sponge to get any residual grout off. Let the grout dry for 24 hours before using your game.

!!!B CR8IV!!!

Terracotta Warriors

This project is a great way to tie art and history together, if you are studying China or Asian cultures in your classroom, you can create an army of terracotta warriors with your class.  The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta (a type of clay) sculptures depicting the armies of the first Emperor of China. The purpose of these warriors was to protect the emperor in his afterlife and to make sure that he had people to rule over.  There are over 8000  life-size warriors, horses and chariots that make up the collection.  It had been buried until  farmers accidentally found them in 1974 while digging a well in a remote area of the Shaanxi Province.  


Once you have discussed the amazing magnitude of the terracotta army with your students and shown lots of pictures, each student can easily create their own warrior. You can use terracotta clay for this project if you want (it contains a lot of iron and hence it stains everything easily!) but I used a low fire white earthenware clay and stained the surface of the clay afterward to get the rich red tones.  Start by giving your students a piece of clay that is about the size and shape of a hot dog bun.  With a knife, cut the bottom third of the clay down the middle.  This will create two separate legs.  Then cut from where the armpit would be on an angle towards the outer edge of the block of clay to create each arm.  Next squeeze the clay to create a neck and round out the head with your hands.  This should give students a basic human form.  They can change the position of their warrior if they want to by bending the limbs to make it kneeling or sitting.  Next have them use tools and their fingers to create the details and features. Remember that if they add any clay on, they'll need to scratch-to-attach.  Use lots of references to look at the details in the uniforms of the warriors.  Once they are dry, you can bisque fire them and then I painted mine with a red iron oxide wash to give them their terracotta color. If you've used terracotta clay, you won't need to color them.  To make the wash use 2 parts red iron oxide to one part gerstley borate (all available at ceramic supply stores) and mix with water to a thin consistency.  Paint on the wash and then use a damp sponge to wipe the surface off lightly.  Glaze fire the pieces and you can assemble your terracotta army ready for battle!

!!!B CR8IV!!!

Henna Hands

Henna is a natural dye that is used to decorate the body especially the hands for special occasions such as weddings in many Asian cultures. The designs are intricate patterns of shapes, flowers, spirals, waves and lines.  For this project, I show my students lots of examples or patterns and designs, we also practice a few on paper first.

You may want to cover your tables with newspaper to make clean up easier.  To make the hands, each student needs a latex glove (be sure to use thick gloves NOT the thin food service type), then mix up a small batch of plaster and pour it into the glove while the student holds it open. Once their glove it full, have them pinch it closed and hold it up until the plaster hardens (about 10 min).  The stiller they can be holding the plaster, the less chances of fingers breaking off once its dry, I have my students tell jokes or riddles while they wait.   HINT: You may need to mix up multiple batches depending on the size of your class, try not to mix up to much at one time or it will harden before you get to pour it into the glove.  If you have never worked with plaster before, I recommend trying it out on your own before attempting with a class--it's a very manageable classroom material if you know what to expect!

When the plaster hardens you can lay the gloves down on the table and carefully cut the glove off with scissors.  You should have a perfect hand shape which may stand up if the bottom is flat enough ( you can sand it flat if its not!).  I let these dry completely over night.  To clean up any plaster disasters, let it harden and then break it up with a scraper and hammer, through the hardened chunks away.  If you want to get it out of the bucket you mixed it in, let it harden and then flex the plastic bucket to pop it off the sides.  DO NOT LET PLASTER GO DOWN THE SINK!!  I set up a 5 gallon bucket of water for students to wash their hands and any tools in, then just dump that water outside.

Once the plaster is set, use watercolor paints to paint the entire surface of the hands, the plaster will absorb the paint quickly.  You can use this as a time to tie in a color theory lesson explaining the differences between warm colors and cool colors or just give them primary colors and have them experiment mixing.  Once the paint is dry, give students a selection of fine and ultra-fine sharpie markers to start their henna patterns with.  I encourage students to do at least 10 different patterns and to cover the whole surface.  They can use the patterns they drew earlier as references on their final pieces.

HINT: If you have broken fingers, they can be fixed!  Take a small drill bit and drill about 1/2" into the finger that is broken and also into where it connects.  Cut an inch long (or shorter) dowel of wood, such as a shish kabob skewer, dip the ends into glue and fit it into the drilled holes.  You can also add a little bit of glue to the plaster surfaces, push the broken pieces together gently and let dry!  

!!! B CR8IV!!!