Clay Pumpkins!

If I taught clay lessons everyday I would surely receive the award for the ‘best teacher’ in our school!  Everyone loves clay!  The minute that the children walk into my classroom and spot the clay excitement stirs, chit chatting begins and you can feel their energy.  I only wish I could capture this ‘energy’ and put it into all of my art lessons.  What makes clay so exhilarating?  And why don’t I do it more?

 

  There are a couple of reasons that I can think of.  Storage is always an issue, with small wooden shelves hanging on the wall near my kiln, I only have enough storage space for maybe two classes pottery at a time.  And firing up the kiln, loading and unloading is time consuming.  But are these really valid reasons to not experience more clay lessons with my students. 

 

It’s October and pumpkins are everywhere and who doesn’t love pumpkins, the many shapes, sizes and colors!  My 3rd grade class eagerly scooped up the clay, excited and eager.  I demonstrated the technique of pinch pot construction and how to pinch pots joined together could give them a pumpkin.  They divided their mound of clay into two equal pieces and cupped each piece creating a round shape.  They cupped the round shape back and forth until it became an even shaped ball.  Both mounds of clay were shaped and they were now ready to ‘pinch’ their clay into a small vessel.  Clay ball is held firmly in one hand and a thumb is inserted until it almost reaches the bottom of the ball.  Using their outside fingers along with their thumb the clay is squeezed and rotated until the walls of the vessel are thinned and even.  Both pieces of clay must be shaped this way. Now the process of connecting the two pinch pots to one another.  Using a wooden or plastic modeling tool the edges of the pinch pot are ‘scored’ or simply marked up.  The two pinch pots are placed on top of each other and wiggled together.  Using the modeling tools again, the seam is roughed up and now the fun begins.  Each child uses a wooden ruler to hit the seam, merging the seam right into the clay.  This technique is called ‘paddling’ the clay, and the students love it.  It’s a great way to get rid of any built up tension.  By the time they are done paddling the seam, the clay should be smooth and ready to transform into a pumpkin.  I had placed a small pumpkin on each table for inspiration.  Students joined on stems, some a few leaves and almost all carved out a face using a pin tool.  One of my students, Dereck, wanted his pumpkin to look like the one on the table, ‘Would this be ok ?’.  I said of course that was ok, nature had inspired him.  He was the only one in the class not to add a jack o lantern carving and it was too truly beautiful!  He had the lines in the pumpkin so perfectly executed and it truly resembled the mini pumpkin sitting on the table in front of him, but with a much more magical appeal.  It was truly ‘sweet’.   I’ve always felt Dereck has a very clever mind, always sure on his artistic decisions, a real thinker.  He is very young, a little immature at times, but clever and creative.  Of course, sometimes when I look at the final project, I do have some difficulty deciphering his lessons, but Dereck marches to his own beat and he is a thinker.  I’ve heard he is a challenge in his classroom not willing to ‘conform’ to the demands of the classroom, but in the art room he can explore, discover and create as an individual.  The classroom teacher doesn’t really want more Dereck’s but maybe our world should.