Clay: Clay - non-representational

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Clay - non-representational

Squishing it with my hands. Molding it into towers. Rolling it into little balls. I had a blast working with clay in class on Friday.

Even though I didn’t end up making a sculpture that I would have liked to keep, per se, it was so much fun working with the material. It made me think of how often people put pressure on kids to develop some concrete “work of art” from their artistic explorations rather than let them sit and explore the materials at their own pace.

I found myself changing techniques as I went on to try to create the texture on the clay that I found aesthetically pleasing. I didn’t like how the clay I was working with at first ended up being imprinted with my fingerprints or with the criss-cross pattern of the board I was working on. As the night progressed, I changed the technique I was using to create balls of clay that I rolled up by using my palms, which eliminated most of the lines and patterns that the clay otherwise was taking on.

I really see the value in bringing clay into the classroom for kids to work with. It’s a medium that kids of all abilities can enjoy and work with. For kids with gross and fine motor difficulties, it may be extremely difficult — and sometimes near impossible — to manipulate pencils and paintbrushes, but the clay lends itself to all kinds of explorations and uses.

And I think it can be a great way to intertwine art and science in the classroom. Kids can learn where clay comes from, how it’s formed, where to find it, etc. — science; then they can be encouraged to use the clay in artistic ways.

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Clay Handouts

CLAY in the Classroom

Clay is an ideal three-dimensional material for young children because it is malleable and can best be modeled directly with the hands. "Pressed, squeezed, pinched, pushed, flattened, and stood up clay assumes shapes given by hands and fingers and miraculously holds them" (N. Pile, p.46) It is, as a five-year old said, "soft and heavy."

Clay comes from the earth. It is found near rivers, streams, ponds, lakes and bays. Clay for the classroom can be bought from clay/ceramic suppliers and most art supply stores. It usually comes in a box that contains two twenty-five pound bags. The cost for fifty pounds is around $15.00. Be sure it is earth clay not plasticine or play dough. Fifty pounds of clay should last the year.

It has quite different possibilities from play dough and therefore it is best if not tools are used with it when children are young. Clay can be used over and over again.

To Keep Clay:

1. Clay should be kept in a plastic trash pail or other waterproof container in balls the size of an orange or grapefruit. Cover clay with a damp cloth. Then cover the damp cloth with a piece of plastic and put on the lid of the container.

2. After children work with clay and return it to the bin in the shape of a ball or brick. Clay dries in the air, and after children work with it becomes hard. If it needs some water added to it poke a hole with a brush handle or thumb and fill the hole with water. After adding some water cover with the damp cloth and plastic etc.

Set-up:

Workable clay should be soft and malleable, but not sticky. Each child needs a large mound of clay about the size of a grapefruit. Hands are the best tools. Adults and children often confuse clay with play dough. Clay is a sculptural, three-dimensional material unlike play dough, which can not be molded into a sturdy upright three –dimensional sculptural shape. While children use baking tools, e.g. rolling pins and cookie cutters with play dough to make flat shapes, it is best if tools are not used with clay when children are young since they need to discover how to build and make use of its three-dimensional properties.

Some table surfaces are very smooth and the clay might stick to the table. You can either cover the table with brown paper, canvas or a plastic table cloth or use recycled cardboard for clay boards.

Re-conditioning Clay:

a. If clay become too hard, break it up into small pieces. If it is rock-hard it must be broken up with a hammer -- spread a large piece of plastic on the floor, a piece of newspaper on the plastic and put small pieces of clay on it to be broken up. Children love to do this. It is wise to have only one child work at this at a time and limit the amount of clay on the newspaper so it does not fly around.

b. Put broken-up clay in a container and cover with water. Cover the container and leave for several days, stirring it each day. If there is still water on the top pour it off.

c. If clay is too sticky to work with spread it out on a thick pile of newspapers. Leave for a few seconds and remove carefully so that fragments of paper do not get left in the clay. Repeat until the clay is the correct consistency.

Working with Clay:

1. Explore clay. Children need plenty of time to explore clay to get the "feel" of it and learn that it is a soft material that has weight. No tools are necessary, since hands are the best tools.

2. Once children have found out what clay is like they will make all sorts of shapes. Some children make many tiny shapes, other prefer to work with a large shape. It is best to have as much clay available as possible. Three and some four-year-olds may stay a long period at this stage. five-year-olds will also work in this way at the beginning. The children make coils, balls and other simple shapes, often building them together to make "designs." Some children name their shapes, others do not. A teacher may ask "How can you put these shapes together to make a design?" Supportive comments to a child about the work can be descriptive comments for the design. For example: "You have arranged large and small coils together to make your design." Since clay is three-dimensional it is appropriate for a teacher to suggest, "Turn your piece around as you work -- How does it look form all sides?"

3. Some five-year-olds and children older who have had time to explore clay are ready to make simple representational sculpture. It is then appropriate for the teacher to ask a motivation question to help them to think of an idea of their own. Some suggestions might be: -- "Can you make an animal?" or "a person?" These first animals and people by five and six-year olds are usually not specific people or animals but generalized forms.

4. Later, usually at about six years and continuing, children start to represent specific people and animals. Then the teacher can help by asking such questions as, "What animal do you know well?" Then "How could you make it out of clay?" (Children who have thoroughly explored the nature of clay will know that they have to make legs thick, or make the animal sitting or lying -- This is problem solving. The teacher can ask a question and encourage the children to figure it out for themselves.

5. By eight years of age children will be able to make many representations from clay and often they like to make a group also. The teacher can ask questions like:

Can you think of:

Two people together

A pet

A friendly animal or a fierce animal

An animal or person sleeping

An animal or person sitting

Doing something you like to do

Two people together

Hopefully from such questions children will come up with individual ideas that have meaning. The above suggestions apply to children seven and eight and older who have had ample opportunity to explore clay.

Keeping Clay Pieces

When children are older, and probably toward the end of the year, they will want to let their clay sculptures dry. It is important that they dry slowly so that small parts (tails, ears, etc.) do not fall off. Clay shrinks when it dries; therefore, slow drying is a help. A small piece of plastic or freezer wrap may be wound around a tail or ear and then a piece of plastic laid loosely over the whole piece.

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Saturday, January 5, 2013

Clay - non-representational

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