Creature Pots

Grade: 5
Source: Original idea by Mrs. Potts
Supplies:
25 lbs of clay cut into 6x6 slabs, thick
Small water dishes
Point tools, popsicle sticks
wooden dowels
Toothbrushes
Construction paper
Underglaze: multiple colors
Containers for glaze
Small brushes
Tray for finished pieces
Focus: Handling clay, pinch pot, handbuilding
Prep: cut clay and place on construction paper individually, tools ready to hand out
1. Begin with slab, cut in half with popsicle stick, set one half aside. Cut one half
in half again.
2. Make sandwich with two small half pieces. Begin tapping on desk on
construction paper to form into a sphere. Talk about rotating constantly and
only using finger tips. Do not use entire hand because it will dry the clay out.
You can use SMALL AMOUNTS of water to moisten cracks. A little goes a long
way.
3. After sphere is made, rest in one hand. Use dowel to penetrate the center and
stir like a bowl of soup. Make the hole. Stop pushing when you feel pressure
in hand. Remove dowel and use pincher fingers to make an even
consistency in pot. Tap on top and bottom to flatten. Use water to smooth
cracks.
4. Use remaining slab for lid. Place finished pot opening side down on slab.
Trace with pointer tool, then cut out. Smooth edges, these could be sharp
when removed from kiln. Use a smaller diameter object to make stopper for
lid. Trace with pointer tool and cut out. Make sure it will fit in the opening of
the pot. SCRATCH AND ATTACH to lid using wet tooth brush. This makes the
pieces stick together. Demonstrate with hands/fingers how teeth stick
together.
5. Use remaining scraps of clay to build a creature smaller than the lid. No
skinny/tall piecesmust be short and small. Round creatures are good:
beetles, bugs, flowers, fruit, small animals, etc. Talk about
commercial/popular characters/images from our society such as Mickey

Mouse and Pokemon. Encourage students to avoid using these copyrighted

characters and create something from nature or from their imaginations.
6. Once all tools are cleaned and returned, students can begin glazing. Make
sure initials are on bottom of lid and bottom of pot. Do not glaze these
bottoms. Inside of pot CAN be glazed.
7. Carefully set pot and lid next to each other on tray to be fired.