making house plaques

Here is a little project that we made at Gardenvale Primary School. I think we did this with preps.

steps: 1- roll out a slab If you cut the clay block in half lengthways and then into square slabs about 2cm thick, the students will already have the appropriate shape and will only need to roll the clay a little bit. Students should always stand to roll clay, that way they can put their body weight into the rolling. I ask students to roll clay pinkie thick. the clay should not be thinner than one centimetre. if you are working with preps you might suggest pointer finger thick. If the clay is too thin, you risk their artwork breaking in transit between kiln and shelves. 2- draw a house shape. I use skewers with children but am careful to talk about safety. Students may only pick up the skewer when they need to use it, and should not walk around the room with them. As soon as a skewer is bent or broken discard it. Knitting needles are another alternative. The skewer is very easy to draw with. students should not draw deeply as this may cause cracks and breaks in their work. If you draw lightly and then make a mistake, you can rub out your drawing with your finger tip. demonstrating this is a good idea. 3- Add pieces. You can cut out your house shape before or after you add pieces to it. I prefer afterwards, as then it gives students a chance to change their shape or add hedges etc and there will be a strong base behind everything. Demonstrate adding windows, doors, people, animals, bushes, flowers, roof tiles, dogs etc, Everything must be added using slip. slip is made from the clay you are using mixed with water. I dont let children use water as sometimes too much water will cause cracks or dissolve their artwork. slip for joining and a wet sponge on a saucer for heated hands are the best solutions for joining and keeping things moist. 4 - cut around the edge and make the hanging hole. A skewer is a great tool for cutting the edge shape. the student needs to hold it vertical, I describe it like a tall tree or a telegraph pole. They must hold the skewer at the bottom, close to the clay and have it touching the board through the clay. then they drag the skewer around through the clay. The hole needs to be made with the flat end of the skewer. press it in and wiggle in a little circle. This will ensure and open hole on the far side of the claywork. 5- finishing off. The skewer can be used very decoratively now to add lines and dots and textures. Some other clay tools are also good for adding textures of grass, tiles, weatherboards, decorative patterns etc. 6 - dry slowly inside to avoid curling. If the houses are thin they may curl whilst drying. to avoid this I place about three layers of newspaper over the board. I dry all of workshop artworks on masonite boards that are about 40cm x25cm. You can write the students initials on the back with a black stain or iron oxide mixed with water.

variations: - terracotta only - terracotta and white earthenware clay- you must use a slip for joining made form one of the clays and students need to press the different clays together well. slow drying will help them stay together. - one coloured clay but using one or two colours of decorative slip, e.g . terracotta with a white slip and alice blue underglaze or a slip mixed with iron oxide.

A new blog for using ceramics in the classroom!

This blog has been created to share ideas about using clay in the classroom. Debbie Qadri also runs another website which holds useful information about using clay in the classroom click on this link to go to ceramics class. Debbie Qadri is a Melbourne artist who works in ceramics and mosaics in schools. She trained as a ceramicist and has worked for many years teaching art in primary and secondary schools. She now works as an artist, and also coordinates community art projects in schools in a range of media including ceramics. Her ceramic mural projects can be seen on the website : http://mosaicprojectsbydebbieqadri.blogspot.com.au/ She also exhibits under her maiden name, Debbie Harman.