This week, we kicked off our clay adventure with a fun game. We arranged envelopes labeled with different clay stages in the correct order and then felt the transformation firsthand, from soft and pliable to hard and dry. We also matched various clay activities to their appropriate stages, learning that shaping is best done early on and that color application is most effective when the clay is leather hard. We discovered that as clay dries, it becomes increasingly fragile.
With this knowledge, we couldn’t wait to continue working on our hollow clay balls. This week, we transformed them into caricatures of our favorite animals! Bertie inspired us with examples of animals we could create, emphasizing the importance of short, thick pieces for strong attachments. We sketched our chosen animals, formed the necessary parts, and used slip to attach them to our balls. It was truly magical to watch our balls come to life as fantastic creatures. We created a cat, a shark, a panda, an owl, an angry bird, a sheep, a panther, a pig, and an elephant.
To wrap up our session, we delved into the second chapter of our fairytale.
Perfect Spheres
The next day, the twins returned to the well of creation, curious to see how their bowls had evolved. To their surprise, they found a little fairy asleep in one of them, wrapped in a blanket of moss. “Look how sweet it is!” Marika whispered, enchanted by the sight. The fairy yawned loudly and stretched, her blue eyes shining with sleep. “Good morning, little friends! What are you up to?” she greeted, without waiting for an answer. “I slept like a log.” What’s your name, Mirko asked. My name is Marilu and I’m a woodland fairy.
“We’re checking our bowls. They already seem to be useful!” says Mirko smiling. The Fairy came out of the bowl, flapping her glittering wings. “Fantastic!” she exclaimed. “I’m going to have breakfast, see you later!” And with a flap of her wings she disappeared among the trees, returning shortly after with a basket full of blueberries. “I thought I’d bring you something,” she said, offering them the wild fruits. “Thank you, they’re delicious!” Mirko thanked her with a full mouth, while Marika carefully examined the bowls. “Look,” she said, bringing the two halves closer together. “Together they form a perfect sphere!” The fairy smiled. “Exactly! And with a little creativity, you can transform it into anything you want.”
“How do we join them?” Marika asked, dreamily. “It’s simple,” the fairy replied. “Take a twig and use it to lightly scratch the surfaces. Then, with the slip you find in the well, you can glue them together.” The twins followed the instructions carefully, until they obtained a smooth and uniform sphere.
“It looks like an animal’s belly!” Marika exclaimed, amused. “We can create a sheep or a cat!” Mirko suggested enthusiastically. “With the same technique, you can add a head, legs and a tail,” the fairy explained. “I would like to make a bird,” Marika said. “And I would like to make a dragon!” Mirko exclaimed. “But we only have one sphere,” Marika objected, a little disappointed.