Exploring Sculpture Using Clay

Students in grades K-1 are being introduced to sculpture as a new form of art that is different from painting and drawing.  We talked about how sculpture is meant to be looked at from many sides, and it has many sides, including height, width and depth.  This means the artist needs to think about all sides of their work.  

Next, students looked at several images of sculptures that can be found in Chicago, both downtown and inside the Art Institute.  We used these images to discuss the fact that sculpture can be made out of almost anything!

Next, students used clay to experiment with creating three-dimensional forms.  They made observations about the clay and its qualities as they worked.  Students made both representational and non-representational sculptures, as they squeezed, rolled and smacked their clay.   Unfortunately, we do not have a kiln at Coonley, so these sculptures were ephemeral and students knew them as "clay experiments". We don't need to keep everything we make!