Making an Impression with Ceramic Lace Bird Ornaments

Finished Ceramic Ornaments on Kiln Shelf

I want to share a fun project that can be used when you want your students to be able to make something to take home as a gift. This is something that works well for all students, regardless of skill level and/or need for adaptive devices or accommodations.  For those students who have a Christmas tree, they make a great ornament. For anyone else, they make a great piece of art that can easily be displayed anywhere.

Since my students are doing so well with the slab techniques and are loving textures, I decided to have them create something that would involve rolling a slab, creating a texture by imprinting something into the clay, and would require a different glaze technique. I think they did a great job! 

This is a great activity for all ages and/or abilities! Below are the actual photos I used to create a visual direction sheet for my students. For all of the clay projects I do with my students, I create a sheet of the steps illustrated with photos. This is key to everyone being successful. It also eliminates any confusion anyone else helping the students may have, such as aides and/or paraprofessionals.

Canvas, 2 Rulers, and a Rolling Pin

Place the clay between the two rulers.

Roll the clay until it is a height even with the rulers.

Place doilies on top of the clay.

Use the Rolling Pin to lightly press the doilies into the clay surface.

Gently remove the doilies from the clay.

   

Lay a template for the bird body and wing on the clay.

Use a clay tool to trace around the templates.
(Press all the way through the clay.)

Remove extra clay from around the templates as you cut.

You should have a bird body and a bird wing.

Use a tool or toothpick to score the back of the wing.

Add slip on the scored area and lay in place on the bird body.

Use a tool or toothpick to smooth the edges around the wing.
Make sure the wing is attached and there are no gaps.

Use a tool to create a hole above the wing.
This hole can be used for attaching a ribbon or string for hanging.

The bird ornaments are then bisque fired. Students use a brush to apply a thick coat of blue underglaze to the top of the bird. Then, they use a small, damp sponge to wipe any glaze from the raised areas of the bird. The raised areas are then painted with a coat of white underglaze using a foam brush. When the birds are dry, clear glaze is added to them in order to give a nice uniform clear sheen. The ornaments are glaze fired to cone 06.

This is an activity that many of my students with limited hand use are able to do with assistance and they are very excited to see the results. The sponging and foam brushes work well for students who struggle with fine motor skills. Everyone can be successful and the ornaments look great! 

I try to come up with ideas for my students that can highlight what they are capable of doing instead of their limitations. Art projects that allow them to explore and be creative while also creating art that    can appeal to others aesthetically in order to build an appreciation of their artwork. An appreciation that gives my students a sense of pride in what they can offer others through art. Clay for form and function! Love it!

Making Slip for the Classroom

2"x2" tiles

 I have found that keeping slip on hand for joining clay pieces can be a hassle. This year, I am trying something different and so far, I'm happy with the results.

I cut 2"x2" tiles from clay and let them air dry until they are bone dry and then I put them in an open container in my cabinet.

2"x2" tile in water 

When I need to prepare some slip for students to use, I put one tile in each small container and fill with enough water to almost cover the tile.

When the clay tile has set for about 4 hours, I will use a tool, popsicle stick, whatever is handy, to start to mash the wet clay into the water until it starts to look like a thick paste. I then cover the clay and water mixture and store until it is needed. If I make it a day or two before I need it, it is nice and smooth when it is used.

1 bowl for every 2 or 3 students

When the mixture looks like this, cover and store until needed.

 

Routines and Organization with Ceramics

Glazing Table for Ceramics

Tray for Sanding Supplies

Having a routine to material set-ups helps even the the most challenged students become more independent in the learning process.  You can see in the photo of the Glazing Table, I have the steps broken down by trays and "Start" and "Finish". The labels really help students to know where to begin and what to do with their work when it is complete. I also think for some students, seeing there is an end to the task makes it more manageable. The actual physical boundaries created by the trays not only keeps things neat, but they also create visual lines of separation that help the students.

The trays, I just keep buying more! They are so helpful for ceramics! They are marketed as trays for plant liners or for holding shoes. I get them at the dollar store for $1.99 each and they are really sturdy. They work great for unloading the kiln and for organizing work for class.

Black Trays I Use for Ceramics

So, the first tray I begin with is the Sanding Tray. The Sanding Tray has pieces of sandpaper, dusting brushes, and trays. The students sand their pieces on the tray to keep the mess at tables down to a minimum. When the piece feels smooth on all of the edges, they use a dusting brush (stiff paint brush) to remove any dust on to the tray. Then, the students clean the tray and remove the brush and the sandpaper from the tray. If we are focused on just sanding and they are finished, the pieces go on the finished tray. If we are sanding as we go, the pieces stay on their red tray to be glazed. 

Tray With Bisque Pieces to Sand

The "Start" tray always has the bisque pieces we are working with for that class period. If it's a group project, everything is just mixed together. If we are working on individual projects, everything would be clearly labeled. In the picture below, you see bisque leaves that are being used to create fall leaf wind chimes. Next to the "Start" tray, is the "Finish" tray. 

Tray for Sanded Bisque Pieces

This is where the pieces go when they are sanded smooth, unless we are glazing as we go.

The "Start" tray for glazing is the tray in the photo labeled "Tray for Glazed Pieces in Process". Due to the fact that glazes are usually applied in 2-3 coats, sometimes students do not finish. This tray gives us a "parking lot" until students can return to their pieces.  

Tray for Glazed Pieces in Process

The final tray "Finish" is the tray where the glaze pieces that are complete are places. I then move these pieces to the clay area of the classroom until I have enough to fire the kiln. 

Students learn the process and are able to move independently through the steps. I find this takes away some of the "I'm done" from students because with this layout, they know (or can figure out) what's next.

Tray for Completed Glaze Pieces

Making Images for Visual Schedules

             

An example of images created to use with students when working with clay.

In working with students that need visual schedules and information supported by pictures, I find the images I need are often not available. So, I've started creating my own. I work on my iPad Pro using the Apple pencil. I could create them on paper and then scan them, but I find this to be easier due to the quantity I need.

I use Adobe Draw to create the image. I use Adobe Comp to put the image into a pec format with the words.

I make the images 2"x2" in Microsoft Word and print them by the sheet, cut them out, laminate them, cut them out again and then put velcro on the back of each. I like to print them 4x4 for when I introduce them to students and talk about them. I also use them for my assistive devices and checking vocabulary. I think it's so much more effective to have images that really are specific to the content/learning.

                                          

Bloglovin is a great place to be!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I am just getting this blog off the ground, but I am excited to share what I am learning as I work with my students. Helping my students to find ways to express themselves through art is pretty amazing. I welcome your feedback and I look forward to sharing with others.

Slump Fish Dish

I am working with students that have very limited fine motor and gross motor skills. As I experiment with different materials, I try to find materials and projects that the students can use to express themselves, but also have the added joy of being able to share something they can be proud of making. Sometimes this means looking at what I know they can do and finding a project that will highlight their special creative skills,  mark making or painting in a way that is not only fun and creative, but also something that is aesthetically pleasing to their family. It is so important to have their families support what they are creating and to understand the importance of art. I want them to be able to enjoy art after I no longer have them as students.

Working with ceramics is really a good solution. My students do not all have the dexterity or hand strength to create ceramics with pinching or pulling the clay, but they do well working with a slab of clay.

My students are currently working on a couple of clay projects, in different stages. I'd like to share one project I feel is going pretty well. This project is the slump fish dish and I think it is really going to be awesome! I made templates for my students out of tag board and laminated them and then cut them out. Students worked to wedge their clay and then roll a slab. Once they had a nice even slab (thanks to 2 rulers), they laid the template on their clay slab and traced around it. Some of my students need assistance with rolling the clay, some students need assistance with tracing the template.

Once the excess clay was cut away, students used found objects to create lines and patterns on their clay fish. When the fish design was complete, students carefully laid the fish (design side down) over the bottom of a small styrofoam bowl. I had two approaches for the bottom due to different ability levels. Some students just wrote their name on the bottom and they were finished. Other students rolled a small diameter coil of clay and used "score, slip, smooth" to add a foot to the bottom of the dish before signing their name.


Even with a wide range of abilities, the project has been successful so far. Right now, the slump fish dishes have been bisque fired and are waiting to be glazed. I can't wait to see how they do with the painting! I will be sure to post our finished project.

                 

Re-thinking My Teaching for Very Special Students

Line Study in Paint

I'm entering my 23rd year of teaching in a large urban school district, and I am reminded of the excitement and wonder of those first few years of teaching as a new teacher in the district. I'm in a new school this year, but it is a very special school. The students have a variety of needs that are beyond what can be addressed in a typical school. They are a part of a school that takes extra care to give them the real life experiences they will need in order to be contributing citizens in the community. Students learn how to interact with others and how to take care of themselves. They learn how to get to work by various modes of transportation and then they get to work (volunteer) at businesses such as Shoppers and Old Navy. This experience is invaluable for the students and their families.

My students have multiple disabilities ranging from physical, intellectual, cognitive, and social to emotional. Many students have autism and/or asperger syndrome. These challenges are at the forefront of everything I plan for my students. Everything from how you lay a pencil or marker on a table to accommodate a student's grip, to your voice quality and how you state a direction or phrase a question. How do you plan art activities for students who do not have well-developed gross or fine motor skills? Students who are non-verbal, deaf or hard or hearing, or legally blind? Differentiation is  not a negotiable with this group. Each student must be part of the planning for every lesson. 

Teaching art to this group of students is making me re-think methods of doing things, how I set-up my room, how I prep materials, how I state objectives, how I need to  modify tools, materials, or desktops to make every project accessible to every student. I think it is making me a better teacher. I know it is making me a happy teacher! I can feel the creativity and passion when I work with these students, and it is amazing.