Clay Landscapes

Prior to Christmas I did these clay landscape plaques with Grade 5.

They had to choose one of the six geographical regions of Canada.

I was quite impressed with their work.

MATERIALS REQUIRED:

- clay
- fabric placemat
- nail, wooden skewer, small cup of water
- rolling pin
- reference photos if needed
- ceramic glaze
- kiln

PROCEDURE:

Roll out your clay to a good sized rectangle, 8x10 or so.

My slab is about a pinky finger thickness.

Before I cut the plaque out I figure out the shape.


I draw into the clay with my finger.  I usually draw it with less pressure but I wanted you to see it here.

If you don't like it just erase it with a swipe of some water on your finger.

Using the nail cut your shape out and lift away the excess.

I tell the kids to make sure they push the nail down to the fabric, "you should feel the fabric on the end of the nail".

Before I forget I make the hole for hanging with the head of the nail pushed all the way thru.

Now it's time to start our design.  I have reference photos for the kids of the 6 geographical regions.  They pick one and create their scene.

With the leftover clay from the slab they begin cutting pieces out for the landscape.  We want to stay flat like a cookie for these pieces.

I don't use slip in my art classes, I move around too much from school to school.
I use the good old "scratch, scratch, water, water".  I teach the kids that chant before we start.  To 'glue' our clay pieces together we first make surface scratches in the base where our pieces are to go.  I use my finger dipped in water to rub water over these scratches.

I then repeat the process on the back of my landscape pieces.

I then tell the kids the scratches have to kiss. They usually groan at this idea but it gets the point across and clay gets attached correctly.

If you have extra scratches in your base just erase them with a swipe of water from your finger.

Continue to add pieces to your landscape keeping them flat so your plaque doesn't get too thick.



"Scratch, scratch, water, water"

You can some texture marks to enhance your landscape.

Scratch your name into the back of the plaque, have a partner hold it while you do this.

The landscapes then get put away to dry out for 1 to 2 weeks.  I utilize the library for this, placing them on newspaper on top of the bookshelves.



When fully dry, do the cheek test: place clay piece on your cheek if it is cold it is not dry.  I find in Calgary it usually is always a bit cold even when dry but it won't feel damp.

When the clay is dry do a bisque fire in the kiln.

After the landscapes have cooled you can glaze.










Fire again in the kiln.

That's it.







Love this prairie one.

Great flower details.

Although not a geographical region the students were allowed to do Calgary.
This student took her time and made a terrific cityscape.




See you next time.

Gail

Calgary Tower and Fort Calgary Art Projects

This is a project I have been doing with Grades 1/2. It relates to Calgary's history but can be adapted to whatever historical landmarks are in your area.



It's an 8"x10" canvas.  This one is for the opening of the Calgary tower in 1967.

This one is for the establishment of Fort Calgary in 1875.





I give the students a choice for which one they want to complete.

Here is some student work.

MATERIALS REQUIRED:

- 8"x10" substrate, we use canvas, you could use cardboard or hardboard
- drywall filler
- recycled cardboard
- acrylic paint in sky blue, black, green, white, orange, red and purple
- scrap coloured paper, glitter paper
- black and red ribbon
- for Fort Calgary you need some twigs
- blue and red sharpies for Union Jack flag for Fort Calgary
- tacky glue
- printed text labels from the computer
- Mod Podge, optional

PROCEDURE:

Cut pieces for your project out of recycled cardboard.

For the Calgary Tower we cut out the tower and some additional skyscrapers to represent downtown.

For Fort Calgary we cut out a Tipi, the main fort building, and the 2 towers.

The kids wrote their names on every single piece on the coloured side with a sharpie. We turned them to the brown side and gave each piece a coat of drywall filler.  The kids just use 2 or 3 fingers to spread on the drywall.  We don't put it on the coloured side because it has a shiny finish that the drywall doesn't stick to after it has setup.
I also had them add some drywall filler to the canvas to texture the sky a bit.  Set aside to dry overnight.

After the drywall has dried it's time to start painting.  I tape off the horizon line for the kids.  This gives the kids a visual on where to stop painting. Calgary Tower is portrait style, Fort Calgary is landscape.

We paint the sky blue for both the Calgary Tower and Fort Calgary.

Let dry.

While the canvas is drying paint the parts and pieces.

Don't worry about the details just the background colours.




Let dry.

When the canvas is dry I lift the tape and move it up so the edge is right at the end of the blue sky.

For the Calgary Tower we paint the bottom black.  For Fort Calgary we paint it green.

Remove the tape when the ground area is dry.

Using a sponge we sponged on some clouds.  I find that if you moisten the sponge first you get a better result.  You just want it damp.

When your parts and pieces are dry start adding details.


I used black ribbon for the tower and red ribbon for the trim on Fort Calgary.

We also used coloured paper and some glitter paper for our skyscraper windows.

Glue the pieces onto the canvas.

For Fort Calgary we add designs to the Tipi with coloured paper and ribbon, glue on windows and trim, and add a flagpole with a Union Jack we make out of paper and sharpies.

We also add some cut twigs to form the outer wall of the fort.

Finally add the titles.  I printed these off the computer, added a little colour with some disk tempera paint like a wash, and had the kids cut them out.

Glue into place.

You can add a coat of Mod Podge to seal everything into place and give the piece a nice shiny finish.

That's it.


See you next time.

Gail