CelluClay Animal Finger Puppets

I'm always looking for new cool things to try in my classroom to keep me on my toes and keep kids excited about what might be coming next! I'm getting ready to start a big project with 6th grade and needed a quick mini lesson that would give them some experience with CelluClay. If you've never used this stuff, you're missing out. It brings together the best parts of clay and paper mache: it's easily manipulated, it sticks to itself and almost every other surface imaginable, you can shape it into just about anything you can dream up, and it dries sturdy and ready for paint within a day or 3 (depending on the thickness of what you make). The best part? No kiln needed, and kids still walk out of the art room with a durable, lasting, memorable piece they'll love. 

For my quick mini lesson I decided to look in the cupboards to see what we could use as an armature under the CelluClay to give it shape and stretch my product. Folks donate all kinds of neato things to my art room and I happily hoard them just in case. You know, just in case it might be useful one day. 

I happened upon quite a stash of these tiny plastic cups in my cupboard and an idea hit me. We could use these to make little finger puppets. I thought of a coworker who's related to someone who collects little finger puppet heads. Still with me? Good. I've made little finger puppets with this coworker before to make personalized gifts for their relative but we've always used traditional clay. They were always whimsical people, and because they were clay they had to dry for days, bisque fire in the kiln, then they needed to be glazed and fired again. It's time consuming. CelluClay cuts all of those extra steps down and simplifies the process. 

For this 1 day (40 minutes) lesson I decided we'd focus on animals. Most kids like animals, and they'd get to choose! I mixed up a bucket of celluclay (I save old wallpaper paste buckets to mix paper mache paste in and these work perfectly for celluclay too). Wanna make a cute lil CelluClay animal finger puppet too? Here's what you'll need:

- mix up a bucket of CelluClay (make sure you have a lid so you can save leftovers for later)

- give everyone a tiny cup (yogurt cups work just as well, I collect those too)

- Sharpies to write names and class sections inside the cups

- cover your tables, this stuff is sticky (we used "messy mats")

- each table needs a dish or two of water to help smooth things out as they work

- acrylic paints

- brushes

- metallic Sharpies (optional)

After students had their messy mats ready to go and names/class sections were written on cups, I walked around the room and gave each student a handful of CelluClay. I showed them how to smooth it over the surface (you can read about mixing it up and how to apply it here, which also explains why we are doing this mini lesson). 

They set to work making an animal finger puppet, choosing whatever animal they wished! For those not really feelin the animal finger puppet vibe, they had the option of making a tiny planter. Those students did not cover the bottom of the cups (we'll be poking a tiny hole in the bottom for drainage and any water coming out could be a gross mix with the paper mache clay later). Folks making planters added funny faces, dots, lines, and fancied them up any way they wished! Once completed, they placed them in a copy paper box lid lined with wax paper (to prevent them from sticking to the lid). 

The next time we meet students will use acrylics to paint their pieces. I made a bear and decided not to make it look traditional. I was feelin a bit more Lisa Frank funky today and kids LOVED it! Once dry I added texture details with black and silver Sharpies. 

The painting surface isn't entirely smooth, but that adds a bit of whimsical character that I don't mind a bit. Love this idea but don't have CelluClay? Visit ACTIVA Products and check it out! Not only do I LOVE CelluClay, but I love the company that makes it. My experiences with them have been SUPER personable and encouraging, and they love to see what my students are making with their products! (They don't pay me or compensate me to say these things, I truly mean them!)

We'll document our work to share on Instagram @ashcanworks so be sure to check them out!

This morning I had 10 seconed grade cuties join me for AR reading points free art time! We used some leftover CelluClay to make animal finger puppets and they LOVED it! I've only tried these with 2nd graders and 6th graders, but this stuff is a fan fav. If you try it out, share pics! We love to see how ideas inspire others!

Mondrian Gingerbread Houses

Kindergarten has been working really really hard all year learning about lines. We know different types of lines, we know how to draw those lines (those spirals are tricky!). We can turn those lines into parts of a landscape (zig-zag mountains, curvy hills, dotted roads, you name it!), we can even use lines to make a whole bunch of funky patterns! Whew! That's a lot of stuff! 

To add to what we know about lines we learned that when you overlap them they make shapes. Yep. We can overlap lines to make shapes. Ever played tic-tac-toe? That's a shape in the middle of that hashtag board you drew. 

We learned about an artist famous for overlapping lines to make shapes: Mondrian. Take a minute to check out his work if you aren't familiar with it. Kindergarten felt pretty confident that they could overlap lines too, so we thought we'd try this out!

We viewed and discussed Mondrian works, chatting about how big and small some of his shapes were. Then we played Line Simon Says! Everyone pushed in their chairs, stood behind them, made sure they had room to move a bit, and then we were ready to roll! 

For vertical lines we stretched waaaaaay up, reaching our hands as high as we could. We even stood on tippy toes! Those lines were tall y'all! Horizontal lines were arms stretched straight out on both sides. Diagonal lines were tilted to each side. It helps to make airplane noises when you're tilting, of course. We're especially good at those diagonals. 

After all those stretches, we were ready to get started on our Gingerbread Houses!

Students used pieces of cardboard dipped in white tempera paint to print lines of various sizes on their brown construction paper. 

I projected examples of gingerbread houses so they could look at a variety of features while designing their own, taking their favorite parts of things we discussed and trying it out. 

We used directional lines and overlapping lines to be gingerbread house architects! 

The next time we had art together our pictures were dry and we were so proud of the work we did! After reviewing our directional lines with some Line Simon Says we set to work exploring a variety of textures to embellish our gingerbread houses! THIS WAS SO EXCITING! 

While students worked I projected examples of actual gingerbread houses so they could see parts that typically have candies on them. After a quick demo on how to use glue, they were ready to dive in! 

Students showed their friends awesome sequins they found, they talked about colors and textures they liked. So many giggles, smiles, squeals of delight! 

Kindergarten did a truly FABULOUS job designing gingerbread houses! 

We wrapped things up by reading this fantastic book about shapes. Stay tuned! The shape adventure continues! 

Warm Heart Paintings

While Mother Nature continues to tease us with warm spring temperatures followed by snow, wind, and SNOW DAYS, let's take a look at what kindergarten has been exploring in the art room! 

Warm and cool colors! To introduce cool colors for our backgrounds we watched snippets of Disney's Frozen! Students sang along, mostly during the chorus (they really owned that part), and we chatted about the cool colors in Queen Elsa's snowy surroundings and ice castle. We even saw the color indigo in her ice! How did we not notice these colors in her ice and snow before?!?! We talked about the colors she wore: greens, blues, purples. It wouldn't make sense for her to wear bright red, would it? No way, that's a warm color! She has ice powers, she needs to look cool. 

Learning to draw hearts without a template can be tricky, so we looked closely at some and realized that they look like two J's or two candy canes put together. We can draw J's and candy canes! Even though we all drew a heart, each one is unique and they did it themselves! Some were pretty proud of their accomplishment! Once we felt comfortable with our heart drawings and cool colors we donned our paint shirts, rolled up our sleeves (not easy to do with button sleeves), and got REALLY excited to paint with them! I covered the tables with rolled paper in cool colors to go along with our theme and to reinforce this new color family. We looked at several examples of patterns made of lines and shapes that we know and were inspired! Students set to work designing patterned backgrounds for our hearts. 

Check out that indigo line along the top!!! Mixing that color was a big deal. Everyone agreed that when we learned to mix colors this year that was the most difficult to make. Painting pattern details takes focus, helps to develop fine motor skills, and patience. We weren't rushing. We took our time. We encouraged each other. We showed friends at our tables designs we were especially proud of. 

We listened to music while we worked, favoring Pandora Disney tunes, of course. It was especially exciting when "Let it Go" played because that song introduced us to these super cool colors in the first place! 

To introduce students to warm colors we turned again to Disney's Frozen! We watched Olaf singing "In Summer", looking for warm colors. We chatted about how different the hot tub scene would feel if the background was cool instead. The colors we choose are important! How do you think folks will feel looking at our warm hearts? Warm and fuzzy, happy and special, all good things, right? ABSOLUTELY! 

These cheerful hearts are sure to warm you up and put a smile on your face! 

Clay Ornaments

A few years ago, when our ceramics program was just getting started, the mayor of our small town decided that the town should have a community tree for all to enjoy. He's always looking for ways to bring people together for the good of the town, to create a stronger sense of community, and to welcome those passing through. He asked that each student in our elementary school make an ornament for this community tree, and we set to work! 

Making something out of clay is pretty special, but to give away the very first thing you make is difficult. So students made TWO! One to keep and one to give. Making two ornaments with every student in the school was a huge task, lots of time, lots of prep, lots of sorting! Nowadays only kindergartners make ornaments to contribute to the tree, the new ornaments are added to the collection of previous ornaments, and everybody wins! Each year students of all ages enjoy searching the community tree for their ornament!

Until this year, each slab was rolled using a rolling pin. They're for pies. Imagine rolling slabs for a class of 18-22 kindergartners. Frazzled. Noodle arms. It felt like it took forever, and they weren't always even. This year we have a beautiful, efficient, shiny new slab roller to make the job of prepping clay a breeze! A dream even! Ok, it still takes time, but not nearly as much as it used to and I LOVE IT!

Before the kiddos arrive to art for ornament makin' I have the slabs ready to go on canvas boards (they keep the clay from sticking to the tabletops and makes projects like this a whole lot more tidy), tabletop containers with a variety of things in them to make textures (marker caps, Popsicle sticks, funky pasta noodles, and anything else that will leave neat-o looking dents in clay), plastic wrap over each slab (prevents the clay from sticking to the cookie cutters), and a box of miscellaneous cookie cutters to choose from. In years past I've had students choose a cookie cutter for their two ornaments, taking turns using popular ones like hearts and boots, but little hands really struggle pushing the cookie cutters through the clay. Making my rounds to help each child with the cookie cutters gets a little crazy, so this year I tried something new! That new slab roller inspired all kinds of new! I had art helpers punch out circular clay cookies from the slabs and skipped that part with the kindergartners. It was much more time efficient and way less frustrating for the kids (and me!).  

As students finished up, I visited their work area to write their names and class sections on the back. Then I used a plastic straw to poke a hole in the top so the ornaments could be strung or hooked. When the plastic straw gets too clogged, I simply cut that section off and keep poking along!

I left the labeled and poked ornaments on a canvas board in the middle of the table, out of the way of free art activities for finishers, and continued labeling and poking ornaments at each table until all were ready to dry!

I can usually finish labeling and poking the ornaments before their class ends. With just a few short minutes before my next class, I quickly removed the ornaments from the canvas boards at each table and place them in borrowed soda bottle trays. 

They stack well in the cabinets they're stored in, allow air all around them so the ornaments dry evenly, they have sturdy handles, and make it easy to sort them into classes when removed from the kiln!

When the ornaments are finally dry enough they're loaded into the kiln. They're fired (temps are incredibly HOT!), cooled (for at least a day), unloaded (carefully), and sorted to glaze. This part is confusing for kiddos. Glaze is like painting, but the colors are mostly pastel and sometimes kinda dull when poured straight from the jar. They get darker, brighter, richer, and change SO MUCH after being fired again! What looks like light purple in the glaze tray actually turns into a gorgeous dark blue! They don't think it makes any sense, but they're always delighted by the surprise colors!

I demo how to glaze before they try it out. There's a lot to know! We talk about putting frosting on cookies. Where does it go? Usually the top! That's where we need our glaze to be. We talked about filling in the nooks n crannies, how to create patterns, how to layer colors. They needed three coats of glaze (otherwise it's not shiny and bright) and could choose any colors they wanted, and they LOVE that part! They're focused, thoughtful, and enjoy telling you about their choices.

The first layer of glaze soaks in pretty quickly, the next takes a bit longer to dry, and the last can take awhile. 

Opening the kiln after they've been glaze fired is SO EXCITING! It's A-MAZING how much the colors change! The kids are always so excited, so proud, and so careful when they see their finished work!

They're truly lovely when finished! Some students need a few minutes to choose which ornament to keep and which to give, others know right away which one is going home with them that day. After they choose, they decorate a piece of sturdy rolled paper to wrap it up in.

I wrap them carefully, tape them, Sharpie their name to the tape and a paper bag, place it in the bag, and staple it shut! They're safer, and the stapled bag helps prevent them from sharing their treasure on the bus, avoiding sad accidental breaks. 

The donated ornaments are delivered to one of the mayors many volunteers. She makes sure they're cleaned, strung, and helps a group of folks decorate the community tree!

This year my family was asked to light the tree at their ceremony. FUN! We were early, so we went for a little walk up the street to visit shops and passed this super cool n happy door handle that I wish I had on a door of my own! 

We lit the tree! We danced to Christmas tunes, sang Christmas carols, and the mayor even read a story!

We are already looking forward to next year!

Coil Pots

It doesn't matter how old or young students are, they all seem to really love clay. When they walk into the art room and see it set up for ceramic exploration you hear "YESSSS!", "YAY!", and "WHAT ARE WE MAKING?!" They can't wait to find out when they get to take it home, even before anything has been made! Yes, clay projects truly are that exciting!

Our super lucky 4th graders recently explored coil pots! This was a first, both for them and for me. I'm not the best coil maker in the universe, and I've never taught a class how to make a coil pot. I tend to plan one day ceramic projects because keeping them moist enough to continue working on days later is tough to do in my space. I was a little concerned about how much we could accomplish in a 40 minute class, but they really rocked it!

Before students arrived, I used my brand new handy dandy slab roller (it's so awesome and saves so much time prepping clay!!!!) to prep bases for the coil pots. Art helpers punched out circular discs using plastic Wilton cookie cutters. 4 "clay cookies" were placed on the top of a stack of 4 canvas boards (one for each student at each table in the room). I prepped tabletop trashcans with clay tools for scoring and water dishes to share with elbow partners. 

We viewed and discussed various examples of coil pots, looking for ideas. After a quick demo of how to make a coil, how to score and slip it to build upwards from the slab base, and how to sign the bottom, it was time for the 4th graders to dive in! They couldn't wait to get started!

Some chose to build straight up using coils, attempting to make their coil pot as tall as possible. 

Some made tiny coil swirls to sit upright atop the larger coils as they built upward. 

Others made beads of clay to add to their mix of coils for an extra bit of fancy!

We waited for them to dry on the clay cart for a few days. Any moisture in the clay could cause them to explode in the kiln, so we tried to be patient. Students are typically pretty proud of clay projects. They're treasured and students save them forever!

A retiring teacher gifted me this old media cart a few years ago, which has been absolutely perfect for storing glaze! I arrange them like soup cans on a store shelf. Glazes are easy to find and return to their spots, I can wheel it anywhere I need it to be, students can walk around it. It's pretty sweet. Opened containers have a sharpie "O" on the top so students know which are ready to use and which are not. If they want to know what a glaze looks like after firing (because they're mostly pastel and boring straight from the jar) there are glazed tile examples hanging from the side that are labeled so they can find the colors of their dreams!

Since brushes aren't always rinsed as well as they should be, we pour tiny amounts of glaze into glaze/paint dishes. This way the glazes in the jars aren't contaminated by other colors from dirty brushes. 

Students worked to glaze their pots, filling in all of the nooks and crannies.

They needed 3 layers of glaze for rich color and glossy shine.

Some used one color for the entire pot, while others really mixed it up by trying several. They're all so different!

I absolutely love opening the kiln after a glaze firing. I love the color and the tings and crackles of cooling ceramics. After cooling for a day, I removed them and put the coil pots in the hall display. 

Students and teachers have stopped to admire their work, and the kids can't wait to take them home! I've promised to return them before Christmas break!

Older students have asked who made them, can they make them too? We will definitely be exploring coil pots again soon!