seals

Y4 have painted their clay sculptures. We used a 'splodge' technique to achieve the colouration found on grey seals!

clay

In y3, as a follow up to their pop-ups last week, we decided to sculpt some penguins (and seals) out of clay. We modelled the penguins around our thumbs! Dowels and broken lollipop sticks complete the look. We'll let them air-dry before painting.

I love the modelling and detail of these back flippers.

Pottery

As a final project in ceramics club this term we made tee light 'holders'. Very simple slab construction, plainly glazed.

pottery

Today I had all of our y4's for the whole morning. We made 'Roman funerary urns'! We used the coil method to construct basic cylindrical pots before adding rims and facial details. Hopefully most of them will survive the kiln - if not then we can pretend they are authentic artefacts that have just been found, unfortunately broken, by a team of archaeologists.

mugs (2)

And they're out of the kiln - not cracked! But yet to test if they leak!!

mugs

In ceramics club we have been making mugs/beakers. We used rolled slabs formed around tubes. After bisque firing, yesterday we glazed them and today they are being fired for a final time. Fingers crossed that they don't split (or leak when used!).

City blocks

Our james Rizzi inspired, slab-clay built containers are finished. The children added details, using sharpies, around the windows, eyes etc. Now deciding whether to seal with a coat of neat PVA or not. They are going to be used as pencil pots and such like so won't need to be waterproof or anything.

tigers & dishes

Yesterday the y1's created some pieces based on Rousseau's painting 'Tiger in a Storm'. They've also been reading 'The Tiger Who Came To Tea' by Judith kerr. We used techniques from the last couple of weeks in that we wove, using paper strips, the tiger's stripes and then stitched the grass, using coloured wool.

Meanwhile in ceramic club we took home our completed and fired dishes.

leaves & buildings

The y1's followed their paper weaving exploits of last week by stitching some Autumn leaves. The shapes/holes had been pre cut so they could concentrate on the sewing! Wool and big plastic needles were the order of the day.

The y6's have started to paint their bisque-fired, James Rizzi inspired slab, city block containers. They used acrylic paint and we'll probably varnish to further protect and give them a glossy finish.

leaves & city blocks

In y1 we wove, using paper strips, some 'Autumn' leaves.

Today the y6's made slab container city blocks (after James Rizzi). We'll bisque fire them and then carefully (!) paint using acrylics.

self portraits 2

The clay faces sculpted by our y1's are dry and have been mounted on thick card. They've also received a coat of thinned down PVA to help keep all of the bits together, especially the finely modelled hair! Here's hoping they remain intact when they're hung on the wall.

Self portraits

Today the y1's rounded off their short project on self-portraits by creating semi-relief sculptures using clay. We used air-drying clay so here's hoping they don't crack and fragment as they dry. We'll give them a good coat of PVA to seal and glue any stray bits together before attaching them to a piece of card that can then be hung for display.

printing & sculpture

Our y5/6s have embarked on a short printing unit. They started off by using polyprint to create simple alternating patterns.

And some clay sculptures (over pipecleaner armatures). The middle one reminds me of John Travolta for some reason!

We knew the air-dry clay would crack - we'll just paint over them.

Tudor houses, Greek sculpture & forest schools!

Yesterday the y4's continued to construct their 'Tudor' houses by assembling the panels of the lower storey.

Y3's made wood and wire armatures in readiness for next week when we'll wrap them with mod-roc.

At school today we had a Forest School event. 'Forest School' is really an updated version of what used to be called Nature Study. We have a huge area behind our school that has trees, large open spaces, even a stream(!), that the children utilise to enhance their learning across a whole host of curriculum areas. In y3 we used clay to make faces - the premise was that the Ancient Greeks believed that trees had spirits (Dryads) - so we made representations of them on the actual trees. The activity certainly brought out the creative sides of both the children and their parents!

sgraffito & Tudor housing

Today y3's decorated their fired terracotta coil pots from last week. They used a sgraffito technique to scratch through a layer of black paint back to the clay.

Meanwhile the y4's have embarked on an ambitious Tudor housing project. They are aiming to construct 20+ two-storey dwellings complete with thatched roofs! First part today was to cut the timber to construct the panels that will make up the lower storey.

masks & tiles

The y4's have been busy completing their papier mâché 'Aztec masks'.

And the y3's have finished painting their ceramic tiles.

masks & tiles

Today we added 'tiles' to our Aztec masks;

And started to paint our bisque-fired, semi-relief 'Victorian' tiles;

fire & flowers!

The y2's have begun to collage all the bits and pieces (printed buildings and painted flames) together for their 'Great Fire of London' pieces.

And here's a pic of one of the finished pieces that the members of the ceramics club made as Mothers Day gifts.

clay

As part of their topic about Victorians y3 recently looked at the work of William Morris. As he was also a collector of ceramic tiles we've begun to create our own - using natural, organic, animal designs. We're making them in semi-relief for added interest. Each child is aiming to make 4 identical tiles.

In ceramics club we glazed our flowers. Here they are, ready for the kiln.

pots

Yesterday afternoon the y5's, all 31 of them (!), made 'canopic' jars out of clay. We used the coil technique to build cylindrical pots. We'll be making the sculpted lids next time!

And then in ceramics club we made flowers - to be glazed next week - to put in our vases that we've already created. The whole piece will then be a Mother's Day gift.