Joanne L. Van Bezooyen on fri 16 jul 99
I just finished teaching clay art summer classes to young
children....ages 6 thru 10. They did great with slab......little
fingers could only 'pinch' little bowls.....but they had a terrible time
learning to roll coils. They would flatten, or crack, or break, or the
clay wouldn't change shape after repeated rollings.
Does anyone have tips for me as to how to help the kids become
successful rolling coils?
Joanne in Tucson............Dumping lots of water and electricity from
the sky for enough days that there is actually water in the rivers!
Martin Howard on sat 17 jul 99
Why make the kids make the coils?
I just put clay through the 3" de-airing pug, and then through an
extruder with five small circle outlets.
Result, 5 lots of coils and happy kids.
If making a large coiled garden, I would do the same, but with a larger
diameter hole on the extruder. Why make life difficult?
Martin Howard
Webbs Cottage Pottery and Press
Woolpits Road, Great Saling
BRAINTREE
Essex CM7 5DZ
01371 850 423
araneajo@gn.apc.org
Carol Baker on sat 17 jul 99
Joanne,
The secret that has worked for me is to be sure the kids keep their
fingers spread out like a fan and curved upward. That way instead of rolling
straight forward, they roll in outward curves, thus stretching the clay from
the center. Left hand goes to 9 and right hand goes to 3 on the clock. Also
be sure they are using the surface of the hand approximately between the
second and third knuckle, rather than having full contact with the whole
palm. This seems to keep the coils from getting square. Make sure they slow
down and tell them to just brush the coils with the fatty part of the palm
under the third knuckle, knowing of course that they will push harder. Have
them practice the movement in the air so they can feel the rhythm. Once one
or two get it they are great at teaching each other. Aren't kids and clay
wonderful!
Good luck,
Carol in Arizona - Scottsdale
Mark Joyce on sat 17 jul 99
Joanne --
When introducing coilwork to 5-8 grade students in an art class setting, I
always extruded (3/4 in) coils in advance and covered them with plastic.This
maximized the time they could spend building. I introduced coil rolling to those
interested as time went on. It is a skill, developed through practice and
shouldn't be treated lightly.
I also found that it helped them to reconceptualize the construction process by
introducing the idea that the coil (in this instance, in others the slab) is sim
means of adding clay mass to their form.
This meant even more to me after participating in a Magdalene Odundo
workshop at the Detroit Institute of Arts. I ended up constructing a form about
the size of a bowling ball from coils we squeezed-roled between our hands to
no less than an inch ( closer to an 11/20) by 2+ feet and then attached and
built the rough form by walking around it counterclockwise. The form itself
was then worked and developed by scraping (both inside and out with 1/4-1/8
sections of coconut shells) and finally burnished, mostly by hand.
Mark
Ann Arbor, MI
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> I just finished teaching clay art summer classes to young
> children....ages 6 thru 10. They did great with slab......little
> fingers could only 'pinch' little bowls.....but they had a terrible time
> learning to roll coils. They would flatten, or crack, or break, or the
> clay wouldn't change shape after repeated rollings.
>
> Does anyone have tips for me as to how to help the kids become
> successful rolling coils?
>
> Joanne in Tucson............Dumping lots of water and electricity from
> the sky for enough days that there is actually water in the rivers!
Diane Karmiol on sat 17 jul 99
Hi Joanne,
If you don't have an extruder available try a pastry bag with a large hole
tip.
Make sure the clay is real soft so the kids can squeeze it through.
Good luck.
Diane in Miami
millie carpenter on sun 18 jul 99
In addition to Carol suggestion, for young kids I will draw lines about 3 inche
apart and tell them to keep the coils rolling back and forth inside of the
lines. I have found that this keeps the touch lighter on the clay. and they
don't press down at the end of a stroke which is one of the things that flattens
the coil.
Millie in Md. trying to relax and not melt into a puddle
Bob Wicks on mon 19 jul 99
Joanne:
I have had my students roll out slab of clay about the thickness of the coils
they plan to make. Then we merely cut the slabs in narrow strips and then
they are ready to be rolled out.
I have another technique I I use for myself, however you might rather have
the class do totally hand manipulation, I take a heavy spike and cut the
point off with a hacksaw ant using vice grips, I heat the spike red hot and
hammer the end so it is wider. After I have made it big enough I drill a
hole in the center of it. Then I use a file to shape the tool so it is a
nail with a round loop on the end. This works just great for consistent
coils and is a much quicker process. Holding the tool ,draw it through a
long piece of wedged clay for a perfect coil every time.
Hope this helps you.
Bob
Joanne L. Van Bezooyen on mon 19 jul 99
....great IF I had a pugmill and an extruder.....and if I thought they had
one at home for when they use play-doh etc. and want to try some of the
techniques from clay class.
Thanks anyway.
Martin Howard wrote:
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Why make the kids make the coils?
>
> I just put clay through the 3" de-airing pug, and then through an
> extruder with five small circle outlets.
>
> Result, 5 lots of coils and happy kids.
>
> If making a large coiled garden, I would do the same, but with a larger
> diameter hole on the extruder. Why make life difficult?
>
> Martin Howard
> Webbs Cottage Pottery and Press
> Woolpits Road, Great Saling
> BRAINTREE
> Essex CM7 5DZ
> 01371 850 423
> araneajo@gn.apc.org
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