Getting Down and Dirty in Art

Last week we started an art project involving modeling/sculpting with clay.  The sixth graders had to choose two animals and combine them, making a mutated animal.  Since we have a limited budget, we used a bucket of clay that has been sitting in the community art closet for who knows how long.  And being that the clay was for everyone, they were going to have to mush up their creations afterwards (I did say I'd take a picture of their sculptures so we could put them on the website).  Well, you can probably guess how that went over.  Everyone wanted to keep their clay (even though they hadn't made anything yet) and wanted to know why they couldn't.  One of my students said she had some clay at home that she would bring in; then we could all keep our projects.  In the meantime, we practiced with the old clay.  It was super tough and rather hard to work with, but it just gave our fingers a workout.

When the clay finally appeared at school, it turned out to be Plaster of Paris, not actual clay.  We decided to try it anyway.  This was the kind you have to mix with water; we didn't have any measuring cups, so I eyeballed it and mixed with my hands.  Some of the sixth graders didn't want to have anything to do with it because it was so messy.  Others wanted to dive right in.  (The boys were actually the ones who didn't want to touch it).  Eventually they all grabbed some of the goopy mix and tried to mold it.  It didn't work so well.  First it was way too slimy and wouldn't hold a form.  Then it got too dry and started crumbling.  When we tried to rehydrate the dry stuff, it ended up turning even harder.  Finally we gave up and everyone went to go wash their hands.

Our classroom survived the invasion of Plaster of Paris; only the floor is spattered with white flecks.  Thankfully the janitors are cleaning tomorrow night, so we won't have to deal with the mess for long.

After school, the parent of the sixth grader who had brought the plaster came up to me and asked if I wanted her to buy some modeling clay for our class.  Wow! That would be great!  She said she'd pick some up and drop it off at school probably on Wednesday.  Sweet! Now we can work with some new clay, and get to keep the finished results.  The Lord definitely provides.