Saturday, May 31, 2014

Clay Slab Owls 3rd grade


These owls were "easy peasy", as the kids said, to make.  From start to finish it took 3-45 minute periods. The first day was spent rolling out a slab circle, adding texture to the body using old marker caps, and then folding over the wings and head.  The second day I showed the students how to score and slip the clay to attach details like eyes, feathers, a beak, and anything else they wanted on their owl.  They could also use a wooden pin tool to draw on any other details.  Lastly, I had them put a hole in the top to string the owls for hanging and after bisque firing, we glazed them using a bunch of Amaco glazes. 

Just as a  side note, last year I used mostly Mayco Stroke and Coat and this year I tried a bunch of different Amaco glazes, overall I find them of pretty equal substance, but the Mayco is a smoother, easier to manage glaze. With the Amaco, although the colors were bright, some of the glazes clumped, settled, and didn't really maintain their consistency, making them hard to pour. 

My 3rd graders loved this project and were super excited to show their owls off to their parents at our May open house.  Next September I'm keeping them for a showcase to display for the start of the school year so I'll follow up with some pictures then!





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