Clay pinch-pots

This term we have decided to bring our clay indoors and have set up a more permanent area for the children to explore and investigate with it. Clay is a wonderful malleable material, fascinating in its own right, and a great resource for children to express, communicate and make their ideas visible.

Earlier this week, Kim introduced a reference book and picture examples on clay pinch-pots to the children, with some really beautiful results.

Heres' how to do it:

1. Hold a ball of clay in both hands, cupped together.

2. Insert your thumbs into the middle and gradually push your thumbs out on each side.

3. Continue hollowing out the ball with thumb and fingers and smooth any bumps.

We decided to push in some beads – stunning!

Here are the pot drying - I'm sure you agree they look gorgeous.

Jacob takes great pride in showing us all his finished pot.

Children’s interactions with clay are strongly muscular: they press, bend, squeeze, twist and tear.

Clay is a fantastic 'open' resource with no set way of using it, yet provides a sensory experience that helps extend imagination and creativity.

As the week has gone on we have seen children revisiting creating pinch-pots independently and have also seen them experimenting with different ideas, creating other complex and intricate structures.

I love the edge pattern on this piece of work!

It is great to see families working on clay structures together.

"Clay invites a new way of understanding art. Children tend to associate art with drawing and painting, and think of themselves as artists in relation to their enjoyment and skill with drawing tools. When we offer children three dimensional media, we invite them into an expanded definition of art" (Pelo, 2007)

Christine