My summer clay class has been lots of fun, and my students have created a lot of cool things. Yesterday was the last day of the summer session, and unfortunately, we ran out of time to glaze a few things. Even though these are only bisque fired, I just had to post a few pictures, because I just think they are awesome!.
The greatest thing about these bowls is that they are super simple. I started by giving each child a plastic bowl. The plastic bowls become our molds. We flattened a piece of clay until it is fairly thin. Then we slowly drape the clay into the bowls. Slowly push the clay until it fits inside the bowl completely. Students then cut off any extra clay around the bowl. After this is done, students are free to decorate their bowls. You could have them use stamps or texture tools to create cool designs. They could also draw designs with a toothpick. Some of my students decided to use cookie cutters to cut out hearts, flowers, stars,
etc to add to their bowls. (If they do decide to add shapes to their bowls, they need to remember to score and slip, or it may fall apart later). Let these bowls dry for a few days before taking them out of the molds. Clay shrinks as it dries, so once it is bone dry, it will come right out of the mold with no effort at all.
I absolutely LOVE these! I just wish they would have had time to glaze. Next time I teach a clay class, I will do this project earlier in the session, so we can completely finish them.
My summer clay class has been lots of fun, and my students have created a lot of cool things. Yesterday was the last day of the summer session, and unfortunately, we ran out of time to glaze a few things. Even though these are only bisque fired, I just had to post a few pictures, because I just think they are awesome!.
The greatest thing about these bowls is that they are super simple. I started by giving each child a plastic bowl. The plastic bowls become our molds. We flattened a piece of clay until it is fairly thin. Then we slowly drape the clay into the bowls. Slowly push the clay until it fits inside the bowl completely. Students then cut off any extra clay around the bowl. After this is done, students are free to decorate their bowls. You could have them use stamps or texture tools to create cool designs. They could also draw designs with a toothpick. Some of my students decided to use cookie cutters to cut out hearts, flowers, stars, etc to add to their bowls. (If they do decide to add shapes to their bowls, they need to remember to score and slip, or it may fall apart later). Let these bowls dry for a few days before taking them out of the molds. Clay shrinks as it dries, so once it is bone dry, it will come right out of the mold with no effort at all.
I absolutely LOVE these! I just wish they would have had time to glaze. Next time I teach a clay class, I will do this project earlier in the session, so we can completely finish them.
The top photo looks like a pie! I wonder if this will work with air-dry clay. I'll give it a try and see!
ReplyDeleteI have never tried it with air-dry clay, but I don't see why it wouldn't work.
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to tell u my most recent easy clay discovery. It is called a drop platter. You take ur mold (I used a paper plate, but you could use anything, like you do) lay a slab of clay over it, hold it out in front of you and drop it to the ground! It sinks perfectly into the mold and then you can trim away the edges. I let mine dry like that until leather hard and took it out to clean it up. It was perfect!
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