Collaborating with Clay

Since the beginning of the school year, all of the students at Preschool of the Arts have been exploring the language of clay in the Art Studio. After many weeks working with the clay in exploratory ways, the Art Specialists offered the children an opportunity to work together on one large clay project. If we think about our experiences with clay as developing a language, then would working on a collaborative piece be participating in conversation?

Since we would be working in a different way – with one large slab to build onto together – we chose to set up our workspace on the floor to allow the children more freedom of movement. As part of this provocation we offered the clay on a mirror surface as a way to offer the children a new perspective and surface texture for their work. 

Student: “We’re doing it on the floor?”

Before beginning our work, we met together as a group. At the rug, we discussed what it means to work collaboratively and what this could look like for the children by building off of each other’s ideas and creations. We asked the children to give us a few ideas of something we could all make so that we could then vote on which idea to pursue together.

Student: “Voting means whoever has the most gets it and whoever has the less doesn’t get it.”

Once our subject was decided on, we also took turns coming up with what sorts of things we would need to make to bring our collective idea to life. We then made plans for who might want to work on which parts. With our plan in place, we headed over to the spot on the floor and got started!

One group of children decided to make a unicorn land together.
Student: “Maybe we should make a town.”
Student: “A haunted house!”
Student: “I know… Unicorn Land!”
Student: “Yeah, Unicorn Land gets the vote!”

It was very interesting to observe this group of children working to create their vision of “Unicorn Land”. As they worked, their plan ideas became more and more complex as they added details such as fairies, flowers, bees, and multiple unicorns with and without wings.

Student: “We should add a sparkly house.”
Student: “I’m making a stone for a path.”

One student worked very hard on creating multiple unicorns and unicorn variations. On her first attempt she became frustrated because different parts would fall off as she attached new pieces. She then tried a couple of different ways to attach the pieces which also resulted in parts falling off. Finally she slightly altered her design and discovered that this alteration gave the unicorn the structural integrity that it required to stand up. She proceeded to create many more unicorns in this design.

Student: “I’m making a unicorn! I made the back legs. Now, I need to make the front legs.”
Student: “I made a little rainbow!”
Student: “Wow! Unicorn Land is really coming together!”

Another group of children decided to make a city together.
Student: “Hey, guys! A city has to have really big buildings!”
Student: “I think we should make a village!
Student: “A city!”
Student: “Those are the same but a city is just bigger!”

As their fluency with clay increases we see the children using the skills they are learning (coils, pinch pots, etc.) to create representationally. We are excited to watch the children to continue to develop these skills further!

Reflection by Kelly Blondin, Emma Kane and Rasha DeIuliis, Art Specialists