Handling terracotta clay and using those fingers, hand and arms muscles!!! Bring on those fine motor skills :)
The students learned about terracotta clay properties, and how it dries up. Some technical vocabulary which was mentioned include:
"Slip" : Potter's glue, made of water and small pieces of clay itself. Used to seal pieces of clay together when one applies a piece of clay to his creation. It can also be used to smooth down any ridges.
"Kiln" : Potter's oven, where the terracotta clay creations are put for the firing process.
"Firing:" : The baking process. After the clay is created, it is left to dry (bone-dry.) Then it is put onto shelves in the kiln and baked on a high temperature. The colour changes from greenish grey to terracotta (pinkish brown.) Now it can be painted and varnished.
"Applying" : The children applied clay by putting pieces of clay on top of each other, using slip, such as to create the eyes.
"Piercing" : When the clay is pierced to create holes or dots, using straws, kebab sticks, forks, etc.
"Scoring" : Mark making on the clay, as if drawing or printing, using kebab sticks, pieces of wood, etc.
"Impressing" : Leaving a mark of the objects on the clay, such as creating the cheek with the spoon or impressing a plastic flower to leave its mark.
And here are they after firing and painting (and some dry brushing and glittering :) )
