The 5th grade artists wrapped this project up a week ago but I'm only getting around to sharing it now. I mentioned in the Clay Week post that each grade level was portraying an animal in clay form. I challenged my students to practice their hand modeling and coil building skills to sculpt a chameleon.
I began be introducing the chameleon with a presentation about the reptile. I showed them a lot of colorful images and shared interesting facts about their color changing cells. Just a pinch of science is good for student buy-in, here!
I also shared this fun video (disclaimer: some critique that his video is a fake but it is super cool anyway!)
We then set to sculpting with clay! The students had two days to complete their chameleons. Day 1 they modeled the head, body, and attached a coil for the tail. Each table got a photos of the chameleons to reference. At the end of class they wrapped them up in damp paper towels and sealed them in a plastic baggie until the following week. Day 2 they rolled coils and attached them as legs. They rolled small spheres for eyes and used a skewer stick to add textures and details.
I bisque fired them later that week and they painted them with tempera paint on the 3rd day. The last day they sealed them with gloss luster Mod Podge and completed a reflection sheet.
They students were so proud of their creations! I was so proud of their successes!
This chameleon matches their maker's finger nail polish!
My 4th grade artists have now had me as an art teacher for 2 years. Each year I am trying to build upon the previous years skill set. In clay, my students learned how to make coil pots last year as 3rd graders. This year, I wanted to challenge them further by teaching them how to hand model clay. I instructed them to build their coil nest first as a review, then they were to create a bird with their remaining clay.
The students learned the difference between greenware, bisqueware, and stoneware since they were getting the opportunity to glaze this year. I had no idea how happy the glaze would make them. They were really amazed how different glaze was from tempera paint and even more astounded at its final look after the 2nd kiln firing.
My first grade artists were so excited to work with clay again. As kinders last year, I had introduced them to making coils. This year I taught them to make slabs and reviewed coil making. They worked on practicing their skills in attaching clay by using a score and slip method.
Each grade level of artists were making animals out of clay. I took a riff of of my favorite art ed guru Cassie Stephens and had my firsties make fish. She has a lot of neat ideas on teaching clay to kids. Next year I'm going to take her cue on using toothbrushes and water to work attached clay pieces rather than my method of using skewers and having them mark "X"s on the pieces of clay they are connecting. Sometimes they didn't go deep enough or add slip so their fish features slid off once the clay dried out. Sigh...it happens.
Since I only had enough $$ in my budget to glaze half of my classes this year my younger artists finished their pieces with tempera paint.
Most kids were really successful and all had a great time. Here are some of our results!
Phew! Clay week came and went and boy am I tired! Prepping almost 500 balls of clay for students is hard work. Then there is the teachin' part! Now that the dust has settled, haha, get it? Clay dust? I want to share some of what the students have been making.
I chose "Animals" as the unifying theme for Clay Week. I wanted to add in some science during clay week since Earth Day is coming up around the bend and Spring has sprung in our neck of the woods.
The sweet kinders were introduced to the internet senstation, the Pusheen Cat. They loved it! Along with the kitty they discovered the clay. They learned how we get clay and the basic stages of how clay changes to make a ceramic piece.
We then began by making a basic pinch pot that we squeezed around our thumb. Then, we did some pinching and pulling to model the ears and rolled a small piece of clay to make the coil for the tail. They learned how to attach clay using the score and slip method and etched in the kitty's features using a wooden tool.
The first grade created slab fish inspired by...wait for it...yep...you guessed....my art ed guru Cassie Stephens. The students learned the slab and coil technique in sculpting their fish. I showed them the demonstration video I made while we worked so that I could have my hands free to assist in their production. I swear, these videos saved me this week! I didn't have to repeat myself and was available to do the hands on work of teaching. Next year I am making demo videos for all of my clay lessons!
The second grade created portraits of Indian painted elephants using a more advanced slab and coil technique. I can't wait to see them in color!
The third grade sculpted sea turtles using the pinch pot and coil technique. We busted these cute little guys out in 40 minutes! It was amazing! I had a demo video for them as well. I did have to deviate from the video for the flippers because hand modeling was too tricky for them. We rolled and flattened coils instead and that seemed to be the way to go.
Look at that detail!
The fourth grade sculpted a bird nest and bird. They used coil and modeling techniques to produce their clay works. I created a demo video for them and it seemed to go great! Originally I had wanted them to make a bird bath instead of a nest but we just didn't have enough time. 45 minutes fly by when working with clay. They could have spent hours!
Fifth grade gets 2 art classes to sculpt their chameleons. They are using coil and modeling techniques to produce their sculptures. I seriously can NOT wait to see these reptiles painted!
Clay week is over but now comes firing all the pieces! I will spend the next week babysitting the kiln for a couple hours each day after school. All the work will be worth it when the kids see their clay transformed into a ceramic sculpture. Fingers crossed nothing breaks!
