Figures made of clay
Assessment Art-Education, evaluated by Pieter Van den Broeck.
During the first Art Education lesson, our entire class created figurines out of clay. We arranged ourselves around a large group of tables so everyone had enough workspace, yet we could still sit besides each other and form a circle. One by one, we each had the chance to work on a figure, because after each addition (nose, ears, feet…), Pieter would tell us to stand up and move to the figure on our right hand! We continued this until we ended up with the figures you see underneath. At that point we formed groups of three and created a short story around the figurines we ended up with.
“Hubert takes a walk through the park en bumps into a bunch of punk-heads. He tells them to throw their beercans and sigarettes in the trash! He cares a lot about the environment, and wants to make sure the next generation is well aware of these issues.”
A Step-by-Step Process:
Warm-Up:
We start the lesson by each making a large, almost perfectly round ball of clay. Then, we move to the hallway and begin with an introductory game. We call out the name of a classmate and throw the clay ball towards them. The game progresses and speeds up, and before we know it, we’re all laughing and throwing our clay balls at each other, with a few smashed balls left on the ground as a result.
Creative Phase:
We all sit around a large table and have our ball of clay in front of us. Each of us adds a nose, ears, arms, a couple of legs, a funky hairstyle, and finally, a bunch of details. But after every addition, we move one seat to the right. This way, we end up with a bunch of quirky figures, each one touched-up by every student!
Realization Phase:
The figure we end up with is set aside, and we place it next to two other figures that match in style, created by classmates. We then come up with a short story with photos, where our three quirky figures experience something together. This is how we establish the whole theme: figures made out of clay.
