clay kimmys

Last year I introduced my 4th graders to the work of Kimmy Cantrell with a drawing exercise. This year we are going all the way and examining his work with a project in clay.

I shared a few images from his website with my classes today (and will continue to do so with 3 more 4th grade classes) and we talked about his use of asymmetry. We looked at how he plays with the placement, shape, and size of facial features. I pointed out how he stacks shapes of clay together to make his sculptures pop out towards the viewer more.

Students started by making at least two sketches of different face designs. when they were finsished with that step I demonstrated how to lightly draw the main head shape on a slab of clay, how to carve it out once it was big enough, and how to build features and glue them on with slip.

Next week, after the faces are fired, we will dunk them in a diluted mix of black acrylic and then paint them with other acrylic colors.

Students have been super engaged with the project and the clay process:)