I inherited a treasure trove of old Arts and Activities and School Arts magazines from the 1960s and 1970s.
Plaster sculpture cast in a wax paper milk carton. Inflated balloons create interesting negative space.
The balloons created terrific negative space. It reminded me a bit of Henry Moore’s sculptures. I thought it would be cool to try this out as a Henry Moore sculpture lesson with my art campers. We looked at some images of his work, then got busy.
The campers were able to scrape and shape the damp plaster.
It was a huge mess, of course. But fun! The kids (ages 8-11) really enjoyed the process.
Everyone loves clay! I went to the San Diego County Fair in June, and saw three fabulous clay projects in the youth art show.
1. The Golden Horses (Fifth grade and up)
Fifth graders made these horses. I love how the horse is balancing on tail and two legs.
These are made with some sort of clay on a wire armature. I am not sure if it is air dry, polymer or regular ceramic clay. I think polymer clay on a floral wire and foil armature, oven baked and then sprayed gold would work. You could use all those horse calendars as reference photos, plus any model or toy horses if you have them (when I was growing up, some of my horse-crazy friends collected them).
Fabulous mane, tail and hooves.
2. Name Art Tile (Fifth grade and up)
Name art tile
Do you have a multi-slab clay cutter? I do, and it looks like this was made using two slabs. Gorgeous! Love the combination of incised and overlapping shapes. This would be a project that parents and students would treasure for many years.
3. Multi-Color Coil Bowls
Top view of the bowl
Top view of another bowl
Love the coil feet!
I don’t think I can guess all the steps that went into making these bowls. I will add you will have to add and dry those coil feet when the bowl is inverted – otherwise the feet will collapse under the weight of the bowl.
Happy summer!
Want to see more fair projects? Check out this post.
I spent yesterday walking around the harbor. Here is our sculptural version of the famous end-of-WWII photo, situated right next to the USS Midway.
Also in sight of the USS Midway – a large sculpture installation saluting Bob Hope’s contribution to the USO. The installation also features a real soundtrack of Bob entertaining the troops.
Hope you are enjoying your weekend…and giving thanks to all who have sacrificed for the US.
Summer is almost here! Are you looking for fun, engaging art camp projects that can be completed in a session or two? Try polymer clay!
I taught my own small-group art camp for three summers. I use ceramic clay during the school year, but I don’t have a kiln of my own. I was able to do two of my most popular ceramic clay projects using polymer clay.
Give each camper a sheet of foil to protect work surface. Polymer clay won’t stick to it, and you can throw it away at the end of camp
To condition Sculpey: give each camper a fresh piece and have them twist it over and over as if it were taffy. Ready in 2-3 minutes!
A toothpick is a super tool for Sculpey, both for adding detail in the soft sculpture, and for dotting on color in the baked piece.
Dedicate a baking sheet (and maybe a garlic press) just for polymer clay use. You don’t want to use it for food after this.
Cover baking sheet (or toaster oven pan) with foil before use.
Make small projects – design the project to fit your (toaster?) oven.
Michael’s crafts sells Sculpey in bulk here in the U.S. – check the internet, Sunday newspaper or mail for a coupon before you shop there.
In the U.S.: use coupon to get Sculpey in bulk.
You can do cool things with Sculpey that you can’t do easily with ceramic clay. For example, we made Oaxacan Alebrije porcupines by inserting painted toothpicks into Sculpey. I baked them in my kitchen oven. Success! Sculpture in a single afternoon.
Oaxacan Alebrije porcupine made from Sculpey and toothpicks, painted with acrylic.
Oaxacan Alebrije insect made from Sculpey and paperclips.
These projects were hits with all campers from grades 1-6.
If you haven’t tried polymer clay, give it a try. No dry time, no slip required! Its ‘clay in a day’.
