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Friday, April 23, 2010

Clay Owls

I saw an adorable clay plaque of an owl by an elementary schooler once, but couldn't quite remember how it looked, so I Googled "clay owl," and found the white image on the left. I thought it was a great little owl, and am hoping that my first graders have a good time making them next week. Here's how I approached the project:




I started with a ball of clay about the size of my palm when rolled into a ball.
Flattened it.


Used a marker cap to create a feathery texture where the bird's belly will be (this also works great for scales when making fish).


I smoothed out the edge of the clay and folded it towards the center to create the first wing.


Repeat on the other side for the second wing, smooth out the top and fold it down for the head.



Pinch the clay to make the "horns" if you want to make a traditional, Great Horned Owl.



The marker cap was used again to create the eyes, and a clay tool for the beak.



Then I trimmed the bottom of my owl, smoothed it out, and found a sea shell.


I used the sea shell to create a cute texture on the wings.


Once fired, I plan on having the children paint these with watercolors, and then I will add little wire feet on the bottoms. I also put a hole in the back so they can be hung on the wall when finished.



5 comments:

  1. Thanks for a great lesson. I made the owls with my multi-grade k-3 class and they were all successful with it.

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  2. THIS IS PRECIOUS!!.. looking for an idea for my neice's 4 yr old class. This could not be any more perfect. Thanks you for sharing!

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  3. I'm a potter, and I have been having great fun with these!!Great idea!!

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  4. I was just about to create a step by step set of instructions for making a clay owl when I stumbled upon yours! Thank you for saving me so much time. I have used most of your photos and others that I had ni a folder just for this purpose. I've added my own text and now it is done. Thanks so much. I'll add a link to it later if I can figure out how to do that!!!
    Shelley

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  5. Glad to help, everyone! I'd love for you to share links to your versions! :)

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