Clay Shoes, Summer Art

Last week, I had my summer art students make these really cool clay shoes. We made these shoes using slabs of clay. Since my students are still very young, I gave my students stencils of the bottom, sides, and tongue of the shoe. The stencils were used to cut each slab to the right shape and size. (If you teach older kids, you could have them actually draw each side of the shoe, and make their own stencils.)
Then, I had the students assemble their shoe. First we attached the sides of the shoe. Remind students to score and slip. Then we put the tongue of the shoe in. Make sure they put the tongue in low enough, so there is room for shoe laces. Lastly, have them poke holes for shoe laces and decorate the shoes.
After the shoes had been bisque fired, I had the students use glazes to add color. When it had been fired a second time, I let students use yarn to lace the shoes with. I just love the results of this project!