Clay Masks | Artissima - Blog of ArtiFactory Studio

Behind The Mask: Hand Building With Clay

Behind The Mask: Hand Building With Clay

I had the opportunity to teach “Hand Building With Clay” to students in grades K – 4 for the City of Santa Monica’s CREST Enrichment program.

After learning the pinch pot, coil and slab techniques, students had the opportunity to use slabs (pancakes of gently flattened out clay) in a different way, by laying the slab of clay over a sort of armature of loosely balled up up newspaper, so that it would harden in a shallow bowl form, and create a mask.

As the forms dried, and the clay hardened, the newspaper was removed, and the clay became ready to paint, embellish and add to.

Some students chose to use the convex surface of their half spheres or hemispheres as a place to create symbolic forms and shapes such as stars and hearts, rather than a face or character.

Students played with using the paint pens by working on paper first.

The paint pens allowed them freedom from choosing and washing brushes, adding water, and controlling “loose” acrylic paints. They could use the paint pens to create intricate patterns like a drawing tool.

Students learned to pounce or “stipple” with the paint pens, using their tips to apply paint to creases and crevices in the clay.

Students could then add feathers, beads, pipe cleaners and other embellishments to their masks, to further develop their characters, designs, forms and images.

Some chose to focus on color through painting, adding a carefully chosen addition to enhance their character.

This young artists has incised, or drawn into the clay to create they eyes, and added clay to build out the nose. The mouth uses both techniques.

Students used foam plates to mix new colors on, as well as for palettes.

Mixing all the colors together was a popular choice, and helped the students to understand some of the principles of color mixing.

Detail and focus ruled, even with the younger children.

This young artist has mixed the secondary colors of green and orange, from his palette of primary colors, red blue and yellow.

We used both grey and red air dry clay.

Here a young artist mixes green…after painting the outside of the pot blue, and the inside yellow.

These two kindergarteners had a wonderful time painting and creating together!

There is something about painting that seems to clear out irritability, and at least temporarily suspend human anxiety.

It is wonderful to see creative”flow” in action!

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on March 9, 2017 at 6:16 pm Comments (2)
Tags: After School Art Classes, Ceramics, Children's Artwork, Ciol Technique, City of Santa Monica, Clay, Clay Masks, Color Mixing, Concave, Convex, CREST Enrichment, Hand Building Wityh Clay, Incise, Mask Making, Masks, Paint pens, painting, Palette, Pinch Pot Technique, Primary Colors, Secondary Colors, Slab Technique, Teaching Artist

Mask Magic 2

Mask Magic 2

At a building owned by the Community Corporation of Santa Monica (CCSM), I conducted a two-part mask making workshop! Families who rented units in the building attended, with children, spouses, and neighbors.

The work created is breathtaking, and was shown last Friday November 4th at an exhibition entitled,
“The Artists Among Us“.

Here is this chapter of their story.

During the first workshop, participants learned to pound out slabs of air-dry clay, create an “armature” with newspaper to give their masks depth, and form their clay slabs over the armature.

webl The following week, participants used acrylic paints to add color, visual texture, design and pattern to their masks and other clay items, and also enjoyed painting on thick watercolor paper. As acrylic paints dry quickly, and are no longer water-soluble once dry, the artists were able to continue to add paint, details and layers.

Reveling in color and brush work, this young artist filled her surface with exploration.

I did not see this couple enter the room, and suddenly there they were, painting with complete concentration.

Participant interaction makes the whole experience the more rich.

Each got their own palette of colors on a Styrofoam plate, with empty plates available for mixing and discovering colors.

Green grass with delicate characters above. She must love purple. Maybe she will add it later to her painting!

Focused artist and craftswoman.

webg Adding detail. Every brush I brought seemed to have been used!

She seems to know exactly what she wants to paint, as if the vision was already inside her head.

Energetic color, imagery, brush strokes and composition create movement in this piece.

A lion happened on this plate! Painting? Mask? Both?!

webz He said it was his first time painting…he must be a natural. What talent!

Many thanks to the marvelous and devoted Rene Melara, programmer extraordinaire, for the opportunity to work with these wonderful participants, and see their artwork blossom.

Bravo!

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