Sunday, February 7, 2010

Clay Vessels

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Super day for Drop-in-Art at the OKCMOA yesterday. I had about 60 people come through. That is a good number. I had just enough clay and will do a project like this again as the parents and children really enjoyed it. Drop in art is from 1-4pm at the Museum every Saturday. I see all age ranges so I try to do things that can be done by everyone. I also have to do something that can be completed quickly and ready to take home. We used Crayola Air Dry Clay to create a basic vessel using the pinch pot method.

I had portions under plastic ready for the kids as they came through the door. I had them each work their clay by squeezing it in their hands first. Then I had them make a "crab claw" with their hand. I told them to stick their thumbs in the middle and use their fingers to pinch around the clay ball, forming a bowl shape that could be further manipulated into whatever vessel shape they wanted. I saw a lot of hearts, so I think these will make a great Valentine Present!

The problem with this short time frame is decorating the clay. It can't be painted or anything yet, which I would do if it was a 2 part session. So, I thought it would be fun to use beads, buttons, and other things to decorate our bowls. The kids loved picking out their pieces from an assembly line of items I had out on a table. Little fingers picking up little objects is great for building hand strength and using fine motor. Enjoy!

You will need:
-Air Dry Clay
-Pony Beads, buttons, shape sequins...

Here are some of their creations!

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8 comments:

Michelle said...

Wow... just found your blog through Let's Explore!! I love it. I was looking for a Valentine Project for my daycare kids (5 in all, 18mth to 4yrs) and this is PERFECT!! I loved the paper 3-D art also, great ideas that I can actually use!!! Look forward to following your blog!!

Erin Laughpaintcreate said...

Thanks Michelle! I'm glad you found me! I hope to post more useful ideas that you find you can use with your kiddos. I teach a lot of toddler classes ages 15-36 months. I hope you find this useful!

I love to hear from my readers! Ya'll keep me posting!

Erin

2 Soul Sisters Art Ed said...

Hey, I just added you to my Blog Roll List. I am an art teacher in Tallahassee, FL. Check out what we have to say- we are just getting started in the blog world….
http://2soulsisters.blogspot.com
C-ya
Kim

http://kunstlehrer.blogspot.com/ said...

yeah... great! I Love....

Anonymous said...

Awesome!!!! :D

Anonymous said...

Hi How long does the clay take to dry before we can paint it? I'm looking at doing this with the daycare kids for Mother's day.

Deb said...

How much clay would you estimate you used per child? I'm needing to buy clay for Sunday School Mother's Day project but have no idea how much I need. Thanks. Just found your blog via Pinterest and I know it will be a help.

Anonymous said...

I'm also wondering how much you used per child. We are planning to make these for Bible School and will need enough for 200 children. Thanks!