SchoolArts - March 2008

Early Childho od

Clay

Expressions in

Left to right: Jackie M., Kareem S., Melanie M., Joe N., grade one.

Janet Jaramillo

First-grade students, like all children, love to work in clay. I always have my first graders make clay figures and my second graders create animal forms. Because our classes are a short forty-five minutes, my students have to finish their clay pieces in one class. This is the method I have developed to help my students successfully create their forms.

Clay People

I introduce the assignment with a featured artist such as Helen Cor-dero, a Cochiti Pueblo artist. As a class we talk about three-dimensional forms having height, width, and depth; we also discuss what the back of the person or animal form might look like. I suggest that the students make four separate balls of clay—a head, chest area, bottom, legs, etc.

I found that one of the most common mistakes made by students is adding skinny, thin legs that would not support their bodies. To fix this problem, I requested that students make short, squat forms. I demonstrate a possible way to start creating their forms by breaking the clay up into head, chest, and bottom areas, then I have them make a thick (approx. 1– 1½" [ 2. 5– 3 cm] in diameter) coil shape and approximately 6– 7" ( 15– 17 cm) in length. I show them how to attach the three upper areas using an open paper clip to score the pieces before attaching them.

Students need a small container with a little bit of water in the bottom to create a slip on their clay parts. I explain that “water is not their friend” for this assignment, because too much water makes a mess. I show them how to stick their finger in the water and shake off any excess before combining their pieces of clay.

Once they have attached the head, chest, and bottom areas, I ask students to smooth out where they have joined two pieces and to shake their forms to see if they are truly attached. I have them bend the 1 to 1½" inch coil, making a small arch, which they attach to the bottom area as legs.

This will create a standing clay figure. To create a sitting figure, they simply turn their coil on its side and attach to the bottom part of the figure.

I ask them again to shake their form to see if pieces fall off. I allow the students to create their clay forms the way they want but suggest they try my method if they have problems. If they choose their own design they can still use my trick when attaching their legs and shaking their forms to ensure success.

I again remind students to make short, squatty animals to be successful. I demonstrate how they can make a large coil body section and then add two arch-shaped coils for the legs depending on whether their animal is standing up, laying on its side, or sitting down. You have to remind the students to create a seamless joint and to shake their finished products.

We all have those gifted students
who take the clay and immediately
form their figures or animals within
five to ten minutes. The above
instructions were created for those
students who continuously make
pancake people
or animals that
fall apart when
students pick

them up. I found that once I showed students how to make their people and animals stronger (thicker), they were able to incorporate my tricks for their own designs. Successful clay people or animals produce happy kids.

Successful clay people or
animals produce happy kids.

Janet Jaramillo is an art teacher at Wood-row Wilson Elementary in Denton, Texas. jjaramillo@dentonisd.org

Clay Animals

When second graders create clay animals, they can use the above techniques and many remember how to score and attach pieces from the previous year’s assignments.