Clay heads: Expressions

 In an one hour hour lesson, my students were able to learn about facial proportions, expressions, and the ceramic techniques of making a pinch pot, slipping and scoring.

A small handful of clay is all it took for kids to roll a ball, stick their thumb into the center and then make the hole bigger by using their fingers as a paddle to press against the thumb. the little bowl shape

was stretched to make an oval and turned upside down. Viola! We had the beginnings of a face.  Because the eyes are in the middle of the head, we started there, first by pressing in eye sockets, and then rolling small eyeballs. the sockets and balls were both scratched with a needle (scored), brushed with watered down clay (slip), and attached before poking a hole for the illusion of a pupil. Then students moved to attaching eyelids, brows, noses, ears, and lips by scoring and slipping each individual piece. Because this was a Halloween Day lesson, students had the choice of doing a human or monster head, and each face was required to show an emotion of some sort, even if the emotion was "bored." I look forward to building on the skills and ideas touched on in one simple project.

Clay Slab Vases and Wall Vases

You don't need a potter's wheel to make functional pottery, a slab roller, or even just a rolling pin will do the trick. Students learned the "slip and score" (or "score and slip" if you want to be chronologically accurate) technique through this process.

 First they rolled a slab. Next they traced a circle around a jar, and rolled the right amount of clay around the jar to match the circumference. Textures or pictures were pressed or carved into the rectangular surface. Then they scratched around the edges of the circle with the needle as well as the bottom of the rectangular vase side. They they painted some slip on the scratches. Slip is clay that is mushy enough to be a thick liquid. Finally, they pressed the pieces together and used a wooden tool to join the edges and cover the seams. It's a project that can be done in an hour long class period for some instant gratification.

A modified version of the slab vase is a wall vase. It's just a shape cut from a slab of clay, with a pocket attached to the front after pressing stamps or objects in the front for texture. Rather than glaze the bisque-ware, my students just dry brushed it with acrylic to reveal the texture. This can be hung on a wall with a ribbon with small dried flowers tucked in the pocket.