May 20-23

Books we read this week:

Creating with Clay

This week we extended our clay explorations to include drawing and planning. The children could create whatever they wanted with the clay, but had to draw it out first. This extension gave the children the opportunity to articulate their idea on paper and gradually evolve that idea into a concrete concept that they can then try to replicate. The two day experience was a multi-step process that allowed the children to think of an overall concept and then use their ideas and explorations to create and evolve their idea:

Think of something that you'd like to create with clay...what would it look like made of clay?
Draw your ideas on paper...we used pencils so that they could erase anything they wanted to change.
Create your drawing with clay...work slowly, piece by piece.
Think about what colors you'd like to paint your creation. Color your drawing with those color ideas in mind.
Paint clay based on your drawing and with any new ideas that evolved as you painted.

We began with pencils and paper and asked the children to draw their ideas for the clay. We reminded them that they had an eraser on their pencil so they could change anything as their drawing evolved.

Once their drawing was complete, they began to create what they drew with clay. We gradually gave the children handfuls of clay so that they could shape and add to their object at a slower pace. They were reminded to refer to their drawing as they worked, and change anything they felt they needed to as they worked. There was a great deal of dialogue about what part of the drawing they were creating, how it looked, how it needed to change, etc... The clay requires strong hand and finger manipulation and we coached the children through periods where creating the specific piece or shape they were thinking of was difficult. They all manipulated the clay on their own and developed the 3-D version of their drawing.

Our final stage was to paint our clay creations. The children laid their colored drawings next to their plates and worked to paint their creations in a similar manner to their original color choices. They discussed their color choices, why they chose the colors and what the colors represented. The color choices extended beyond their original drawings as more ideas emerged throughout the process. We discussed as a group that an artist's work evolves as they create, and that adding new ideas only makes their creations better!