Painted Clay
A resource inspired by the Japanese art of dorondongo, where mud and dirt are shaped and buffed into highly polished spheres.
Sculpture in Primary School
Decorative Clay Coil Pots
Artist educator Sharon Gale working with KS1 & KS2 students at the Weston Park Art Club shares a clay pot making resource: “This is not the traditional way of making coil pots but it’s lots of fun and by using different paint effects, the end results can be very interesting. We worked on this project for two, two hour sessions”.
Clay Art Medals
In this three stage resource, students make a circular medal from clay depicting their own profile, look at examples of fun lettering and devise a short, fun or meaningful phrase to paint inside their portrait profile.
Clay ‘Portrait’ Miniatures
This two stage clay and painting resource by artist/educator Sharon Gale is very versatile because essentially the miniatures are blank canvasses. In this particular workshop, the subject matter had to link with KS2 Geography and the topic of rivers. Students were asked to research their favourite creature or plant, that made the British riverside its home. They made their miniatures from clay and painted their chosen wildlife onto them.
Tall Skinny
Teenagers working with Melissa Pierce Murray used thin wire to make works with a strong presence. They began by looking at examples of works by two contemporary women artists including Phyllida Barlow and Rebecca Warren.
‘Meet and Make’ Teacher CPD Event and Resource Share
See how teachers, museum educators, the local scrap store and arts organisations were brought together for a making session inspired by Brilliant Makers at Arbury Primary School, Cambridge with year three teacher Eilis Hanson.
Santa comes in all Shapes and Sizes: Yr 3 Make Bouncing Santas!
A fun end of term project that would also be perfect to do at home – making model Santas with character! Jan Miller share a process to make 3D model Santas using simple materials and processes. This activity can be used with children aged 7 to 14 (any KS, 2, 3 children).
Simple Casting Techniques – by Melissa Pierce Murray
Artist Melissa Pierce Murray led a series of workshops for teenagers exploring a variety of casting techniques.
Hand Casts
In this post, artist Melissa Pierce Murray, shows, step-by-step, how teenagers made modroc casts of their hands.
Clay Moulds
In this post, artist Melissa Pierce Murray, shows, step-by-step, how teenagers explored plaster casting by making simple clay ‘waste moulds’ and then moved on to making simple ‘two piece moulds’.
Alginate Casting
Artist Melissa Pierce Murray introduces teenagers to the process of casting with non-toxic and fast-setting alginate.
Japan – Ceramics Inspire Painting and Painting Inspires Ceramics
Jan Miller shares a class project that uses the work of a contemporary Japanese ceramicist to inspire vibrant paintings in a variety of materials. The children then used their own art to design ceramic vessels.
Japan: Making Sushi – Recycled Style!
Inspired by research into Japanese culture, children explored the potential and limitations of paper and recycled materials, learning through play and experimentation to make 3D forms. The outcomes of this process were used to inform work created in a second medium of clay, using kitchen equipment to shape the clay and add textures.
Modelling the Head in Clay Part 4 – Features
This is the final post in a series of posts following teenagers modelling a clay head over a term with artist Melissa Pierce Murray. In the final session of the series: Modelling the Head in Clay, we look at how to form the features: eyes, ears, mouth. We look at ways to finish and embellish the form using hair, clothing or inventing horns. In the class we talked about how the muscles attach to the bones, and how the skin smoothes over the surfaces.
Modelling the Head in Clay Part 3 – Skull
This is the third post in a series of posts we concentrated on creating a solid armature and clay foundation for our clay heads. In this post This post is the third in a series of posts following teenagers making a clay head over the course of a term with artist Melissa Pierce Murray. Here they concentrate on developing the shape of the cranium and forehead, the structure of the eye sockets, cheekbones, jaws and teeth.
Modelling the Head in Clay Part 2 – Preparations
This post looks at two preparations for making a clay head: drawing to help us learn to see the form in the round, and taking measurements from life.
This is the second post in a series of resources showing how teenagers modelled a clay head over the course of a term.
Modelling the Head in Clay Part 1 – Armature
Making a Steel or Wood Armature is the first in a series of f resources showing how teenagers modelled a clay head over the course of a term.
Pimp That Snack! Large Scale Food Sculptures
Art educator Anne-Louise Quinton shares a process for making super sized food sculptures from everyday materials, inspired by the work of Claes Oldenburg. This is a fun and challenging sculpture project for Year Nine and above.
Withy Butterflies
Art educator Anne-Louise Quinton shares a workshop for making a flock of large, withy butterflies, creating a colourful and dramatic artwork.