Clay in Class

Event:
California Art Education Association (CAEA) Conference Los Angeles 2009
Friday, November 13 & Saturday, November 14, 2009

Workshops:
Presented by Ann Fuerst, Ph.D.
1) All Roads Lead to Timbuktu  3-D: repoussé
2) All Roads Lead to Mud  3-D: clay

Ann’s travel experiences around Africa influenced these two workshops.  The presentations included all types of realia, jewelry, a headdress, earrings, a pendant, gold, silver, doors, clothing, outfits, and material.  We saw photos from Ann’s travels, as well as important how-to videos filmed in Africa.  Literature resources were noted as well.  Copies of the lessons plans were given to us on CD.  Designs for the doors and the garments were given to us along with all of the needed materials for actually creating the art with our own two hands.

While working with Ann, I was able to create several different types of African art using clay. These are several different projects that can be applied depending on grade-level standards.

All Roads Lead to Timbuktu projects included several art forms, including:

1. We used a mold to press clay into and create a pendant of a leaf.
2. We rolled out a piece of clay and stamped the astrological symbols into it to create a tablet.
3. We cut out a shape from aluminum foil and then pressed it and placed it onto the cloth door.

Download the All Roads Lead to Timbuktu Lesson Plan>>> (includes historical background and photos)

All Roads Lead to Mud explained the art of using clay to create designs on cloth.  We applied the mud in two ways: hand painting and stencil.  The stencils were made using X-rays.  One possible project as Ann showed participants is to use clay and create a puppet and then use this mud-on-cloth technique to create an African-influenced outfit.

Download the All Roads Lead to Mud Lesson Plan>>> (includes historical background and photos)

VIEW A SHORT VIDEO ABOUT MAKING MUD CLOTH>>>

Photos from the 2009 CAEA Conference Workshop with Ann Fuerst, Ph.D.: