All Davenport 2nd grade students create a pinch pot. This year we made it into a TIGER! Students began their pinch pot by rolling it into a sphere for 5 seconds. Next, they stuck their thumb into it and began gently pinching the sides to create a small pot. With another chunk of clay, they rolled two 4-inch long coils that later became the legs . These two pieces went wrapped up into a baggie until next class. On day 2, we created the tiger head and on day 3 scratch and attached the head, pinch pot, legs, and tail.
After the tigers were bisque-fired, the artists glazed them. Glaze is a special kind of paint just for ceramic pieces. It looks chalky and dry when painted on, but after another fire in the kiln, turns glossy and bright. I ordered a new orange glaze for this project and I love the bright color! To glaze their pieces, the artists applied 3 coats of glaze. They could paint their tiger orange with black stripes or white with black stripes. I also had out blue and pink if they wanted to use those colors for the eyes and nose.
I always post the steps for each art project in pictures. This keeps the students motivated and I rarely get asked, "What do I do now?"
Ready for the kiln!
 Loading the kiln. It is important that the pieces do not touch one another in a glaze fire. This doesn't matter for a bisque fire. |  The kiln is on and heating up! It will reach temperatures as high as the inside of a volcano during the fire. |
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