Clay Animals

We began our clay exploration with a table stacked with laminated images of animal photographs and books about animals. After the students found a photo to use as reference, they received a grapefruit sized ball of clay to begin modeling. First they poked in a hole as if making a pinch pot and filled it with a wadded piece of newspaper so that their animal will be hollow.

I demonstrated how to pull out forms such as legs and ears, as well as how to add pieces with a slip and score technique.

Many of the children used careful observation of their animal reference to model their clay piece. We think we know how something is formed and are often are surprised by the artistry of nature! We will work with clay for one more class period.