Grade: 4+
Age: 8+

Objectives:

What You Need:

• Clay: Self hardening or Potters sculpting clay. You do NOT need clay that can be fired in a kiln ... you will not be firing these sculptures in a kiln.
• Clay tools: popsicle sticks, toothpicks fingers.
• Newspaper.
• Wood scraps.
• Glue and screws (to attach wood base).
• Water and containers for water.
• An old bucket (or two)
• Masking or packing tape.
• An old hand towel.
• Water-based varathane (Flecto makes a terrific varathane product)
• The information section at the bottom of this lesson.

What You Do:

1. Clay is a wonderful sculpting material and your kinderartists should be encouraged to play around with a small piece of clay before they begin working on their sculpture.

2. Experiment with the clay ... see how long it takes to dry out ... add water to moisten it again. Basically the idea here is to let your students get a feel for how the clay works.

   WARNING: Do not allow clay to get into your sink. Use a bucket or two of water for cleaning hands before going to the sink. Allow the water in the bucket to evaporate and throw the clay sediment in the garbage or re-use it for another clay class.

3. Create a wooden base as shown in the photographs. Basically a flat square on the bottom with a large dowel in the center.

4. Next, take newspaper, ball it up and create a head shape on the wooden base. Tape the newspaper in place.

   

5. You are then ready to begin adding clay to create a head shape over top of the newspaper. Continue down the wooden base to create a neck.

6. Build the clay up slowly using small bits and adding more and more clay. Moisten the clay when it starts to get a little dry.

   

7. Eventually, your students will be at the point where they will want to start adding details like a nose, eyes, mouth etc. Using their fingers, popsicle sticks, plastic forks etc. features can be added.

   

8. If you do this lesson in two parts, store the clay heads with plastic bags over top of them so they don't dry out.

9. Once the clay head is complete, you will need to let it dry for several days to a week.

10. Once dry, the clay can be painted or left natural. Either way, the final step should be to apply several coats of varathane to the clay head for strength. Always work in a well ventilated area.

    

Some Tools to Use When Working with Clay:

• fingers
• rolling pins
• sponges
• popsicle sticks
• toothpicks
• cookie cutters
• plastic bags
• x-acto knives (for older students only)
• a clay cutter (use fishing line or a very thin wire)
• various carving tools
• old meat tenderizers
• nuts and bolts
• anything else you can get your hands on that will create texture in the clay.

Some Information to Know When Working with Clay:

Slip: This is liquid clay ... clay with a lot of water added to it. It is used in ceramics (poured into molds). It is also used as a sort of glue to hold clay pieces together. You need to use slip to "fasten" pieces of clay together so that they don't fall apart in the kiln. You see, clay shrinks as it dries so if you haven't made sure that your clay pieces are firmly attached, they will separate in the kiln. It isn't enough to simply "pile" one piece of clay on the next. Use watered down clay as your glue.

Glaze: This is used to decorate clay. It is essentially "liquid glass" or glass particles (mixed with colors or pigments) that have been ground down. Glaze melts at a high temperature and turns into the coatings that you see on a finished pottery piece.

Kiln: This is a large, hot oven that is used to fire the clay. A kiln can reach temperatures 2500 degrees and higher. Your oven at home maybe reaches 500 degrees. You need to fire your clay in a kiln in order for it to be permanent. Once clay has been fired, it can be dipped in water and never disintegrate.

Cone: The temperature that a kiln is set to depends on what type of clay you are firing. Some clay is referred to as cone 4 clay while some clay is referred to as cone 6. These are simply temperature gauges. Whoever is "running" the kiln should know what temperature is right for what clay.

Leather-Hard: This is what we call clay that has dried for a few hours. It should feel slightly cool to the touch. Leather-hard clay is not dry enough for firing in a kiln ... If a piece of clay is put into the kiln while it is still wet, it could explode. Visualize what water does when it gets hot ... it boils right? Well, your pottery piece will literally "blow up" if it contains water or moisture that boils when it gets hot in the kiln.

Greenware: When clay has dried sufficiently and is ready to be fired in a kiln, it is referred to as greenware. Usually clay should air dry for about a week depending on the thickness of the piece.

Bisque: Clay is usually fired in a kiln twice. Once at a lower temperature (the bisque firing). After a piece is bisqued, it can be glazed. The clay then goes in the kiln for a second firing which may or may not be at a higher temperature.