Egyptian Sneak Peek!

I've been working on samples for my Egyptian lessons and am very excited to get started! Here is a sneak peek, we are currently flying to Egypt, learning about the country and designing the concepts for the projects. 

Clay Babushka Dolls

I started working through the process of creating clay Babushka (Nesting) dolls today. I'm thinking maybe 4th or 5th grade would like them. To make them elementary-friendly, I used pinch pots and attached them together to make the form.

Holes in the bottom for air flow, then they are scored and slipped together. 

Smoothing them together.

To begin, I added a hole on top and a third pinch pot for the head. 

She looked like this and I was unhappy with it. While the kids watched the flying to Russia video, I was looking at it and decided that it would look more authentic without the third pot as a head. I hated the ridge that the two pots created and decided to use it to my advantage...

I took off the top pot and pressed the ridge farther in. I'm still not thrilled with it, but am hoping that with the painting added to it I'll be more excited about it. 

Clay Birds

Many of my fourth graders are finished with their clay birds, and I have gotten some of them uploaded and published to Artsonia. I showed them how to mix a tint (lighter shade of a color) for their bird's belly and then encouraged great craftsmanship through the painting process. Most of them did an outstanding job painting these little guys! I could tell by their concentration and the quietness of the room that they were taking it very seriously.

Throughout the creation process we were referring to these as their "owls," and some kids didn't want to deviate from the original concept when it came to painting time and asked for brown or black paint instead of the bright rainbow colors I had already poured. I could understanding wanting to stick with the idea in their heads, so I got the other colors out. They turned out great.

To see our whole flock, check out Willow River's Artsonia link on the right.

Clay Ducks

Kindergarten just finished their clay ducks. Well, more accurately, I finally finished hot gluing their eyes and beaks on. I had to laugh as I was writing down the kids' names and getting their "ducks in a row" to photograph for Artsonia when I noticed they looked like this:

Quack quack!

When I saw this picture on Tumblr, I had to try it with my students. I think it's so cute! It's labeled as an owl, but I really think the kids could paint it whatever color they'd like and they will look amazing.

I had a prestudent teaching university student in my classroom for 25 hours this semester, and she taught one of the sessions of this lesson-I taught the other two. It'll be interesting to see if there is any difference in the students' work with the two teachers.

One class finished sculpting today. The bodies are pinch pots, with all the details scored, slipped, and squished into place. I call that the "Three Ss," making it easier for the kids to remember to use that technique everytime they join two pieces of clay. I also draw it on the white board, both in words and simple illustrations.

I can't wait to see how the kids paint these guys!

Clay Space Shuttles

In honor of tomorrow being the 50th anniversary of the first man on the moon, I thought I'd post this earlier than I had planned. With Willow's Art Show completed, I am now focusing on Houlton's show (April 28th). We have a space theme, to go with the 4th and 5th graders' concert, "Spaced Out!" Fourth graders made clay space shuttles to contribute to the show.

They started by rolling clay out and putting it around two of the individual egg holders of an egg carton. They added a bottom, and then made a pinch pot and put another individual egg carton in the pot. That one I had trimmed down to just the little cup part so it was a little smaller. The pinch pot was put on the end for the nose of the shuttle.

They added a piece of rolled out clay to seal up the back, and then added 1-3 thrusters, which are just circles of clay. Finally, they added wings, a hole in the bottom, and their names. I put an image of an American shuttle and the NASA symbol on the SmartBoard and gave them red, clear, blue, and black glazes. I told them they can make their shuttle look like an American one, but they didn't have to.

To add a little something extra, we will be adding fire coming out of the shuttle thrusters. I'm thinking of using the stiff plastic cellophane-like people wrap baskets in-to make the fire and glue it into the thrusters. I'll be sure to post the final projects, complete with fire.

Clay Owls

First grade just finished their clay owls. For the full tutorial click here.

Lovely Ladybugs

Some completed ladybugs by second grade.

They are so proud of them!

I think I almost like the orange ones better than red-or maybe it's just because not many kids did the orange.

Completed Big Mouths

A few of my fifth graders are done with their Big Mouths, and I am thrilled with their creativity. I have had one class finish with art for the year, and I asked them to take a simple survey to give me feedback on the year. This project came up a lot as the favorite project of the year. See why:

"Crabapple"

Completed Clay Samples

After counting out the days that I have left with each of my fifth grade classes, I realized I'd better get moving on clay! One class started these Big Mouths this week (they will be missing two art classes due to various events), and I am very excited about their creativity. One girl is making a "crabapple." It has angry looking eyes, a stem, and leaf. It's completely adorable!

I think the clay ladybug turned out exceptionally cute! I used watercolors to paint the bug. I had to use many layers to get a dark color. The spots are Sharpie, as I thought the watercolor would bleed too much and frustrate the students.

Rear view, with wax paper wings.

A few of my first graders saw this owl as I was putting it on the shelf, and asked who gets to make them. They were almost jumping up and down with excitement when I said "You!"

Clay Ladybugs

I was racking my brain for a second grade clay project. I have often done clay fish plaques, and dried them over a bowl to make them into candy dishes but I can't do that this year. Not only have the second graders done a couple of projects using fish, but I don't have any glazes at this school, and wouldn't want them eating out of a watercolored dish. I thought little bugs would be cute, but wanted to know more about bug anatomy before attacking this project. After Googling "bug anatomy," I found this image of Ladybug anatomy that produced an idea.

I started with three balls of clay, large, medium, and small.

Made the large one into a pinch pot for the ladybug's body.

Then I made the medium one into a pinch pot and cut it in half for the elytra. I only attached them at the front of the bigger pinch pot.

Repeat with the other side of the cut pinch pot. Then make the smallest ball of clay into an oval shape and attach it under the joint of the elytra.

After the children paint these with watercolors, I plan on having them make wings out of wax paper to glue between the body and elytra. Wiggle eyes and wire will complete our little sculptures. I hope they turn out as cute as they are in my head!

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.