Fifth Grade Clay Castles

Clay day is sooooo exciting here at Sopris. I am grateful for my administrators and my Art to Remember Fund Raiser, as this is our most expensive  art project. We only get one day to create our clay project. Clay is a medium that doesn't get tucked into a folder to save for the next week.!So students must first do a little research and sketch-planning. After studying shots of actual castles, student draw them in their sketchbooks. This planning is essential to all artists. Plus it helped the children to look at the architecture of what makes a castle, a castle! The next class I demonstrate how to cut and attach pieces to make the castle. This score and slip method is an absolute necessity with clay. What seems sticky now will fall off later if not attached correctly. Students worked like engineers under a deadline. They cranked out some really neat structures! Come back to see the fired and painted pieces.