Showing posts with label clay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clay. Show all posts

8.11.2012

Throwing Pots

I acquired a pottery wheel over a year ago and I just tried it out for the first time this summer.
Ridiculous.  I know.  My background in throwing pots is limited to an 8-week class at a local community center (with Joan who was awesome!  she had this great vibe. she was confident anyone could be a potter and I believed her.)  However, it has been quite a few--and by few I mean 6 or 7--years since my class so I invited up a couple other friends who knew something about it.

I threw, they threw, the kids threw.
We threw clay all over the place.
Tried to center, got off balance, tried to re-center.
Trying to teach someone else a skill you aren't really sure of yourself is quite a challenge by the way.
Those who weren't in the throes did some hand building.
 Abby had already learned to make coil pots with her art teacher at school so she whipped out a couple (they may be the only pots that actually survived).  Trek worked on volcanoes and bombs that shoot out of them.

The hand built stuff turned out nicer than the thrown pots.
My friends and I discovered that we don't remember near as much as we thought we did.  We might need to pull in someone with a little more experience next time to jog our memories!
So, some of them may be a bit wonky but it was so great to get my hands in it again.
And I was thrilled to see my big kids getting into it.
Joe's first pot is on the left.
We really need to try this again soon!

1.23.2012

Sculpture with Trek

These are some sculptures that Trek did at school with some kind of crazy foam-like play dough.




My absolute favorite thing about these creations are the descriptions!  The mind of a four-year-old is an amazing thing.  I am so thankful that his teachers write this stuff down for me to enjoy!  I mean, an eagle snowman on an airplane.  That's awesome!

Trek also would like for me to share with you this gun that he built out of his Trio blocks.
"it has two shooters"


Guns are not really on my awesome list but that face sure is!!!

Don't forget...
if you are doing any sort of art with your child,
ask them about it!
Find out why they made it this way or that, used this color or not.
The responses are fascinating.