Ceramic Ideas

A fun clay pottery art project for middle school students is the building of rooms, houses, or castles by slab construction. First have the students make drawings of their house or castle designs. Then, they should make templates for cutting out the walls, floor, and ceiling or roof. Show the students how to roll out a slab and then have them cut out the floor, walls, and ceiling. The edges of the pieces are scored and slipped, and then joined together firmly but gently. It is also necessary to press a thin coil of clay to the inside of each joint. This part of the process can be quite difficult for students to get the walls to stay attached, and to stand up straight. Some students may need to start over, but eventually they are successful. They are motivated to succeed in this initial part of the process since then the fun part begins creatively of designing and furnishing the room or house. Towers can be made by wrapping the clay around cardboard cylinders and pinch pots and coi