Students at Mesa View ES explore the tactile world of clay through a scaffolded journey of discovery aligned with National and New Mexico Core Arts Standards. By blending Choice-Based inquiry with rigorous technical rubrics, “The Sculptor’s Journey” ensures every student, regardless of skill level, achieves mastery in the ancient art of the pinch pot.

Students designed and created their own heart-shaped ceramic dishes using clay. They explored texture by stamping patterns and adding carved designs, then painted their pieces with colorful glazes. This project helps students practice creativity, craftsmanship, and basic ceramic techniques. 🎨🫶

This lesson brings clay to our self-contained autism classrooms.  While some students will also push into the art room, this clay fish lesson ensures everyone has a safe and fulfilling clay interaction.  Students use texture rollers and stamps to play on a small slab that is then folded by a supporting adult and turned into a free-standing fish.

Students create ceramic “Dream House” sculptures inspired by the work of Rose B. Simpson, exploring how artists use symbols to connect personal identity and cultural heritage.

Introduce your students to the pinch pot technique and basic ceramic process with this engaging project. They’ll create a functional container they’ll be proud of and excited to share at home.

By using handbuilding techniques to create figurative sculptures, this project emphasizes artistic ideas related to nature, as well as cultural and social/historical contexts. We examine ceremonial dress and study animal physiology.

“Woven Hearts” is the main project in a SEL Kindness unit. Young students (2nd grade) learn how to roll slabs, make impressions with mats, cut and trace a heart template, glaze and weave. We discuss the importance of kindness, learn a variety of ways to weave, and create other heart-inspired multi-media artworks.

During this lesson, students combine functional pottery methods with sculptural ceramic techniques to create a hollow sugar skull embellished with unique expressions of identity. In a secondary lesson, students can then use underglaze to decorate the surface of their skulls with bright colors inspired by traditional Mexican calaveras.

Students will explore slab building techniques and texture impressions in clay by creating a wave and fish sculpture.

Create a home for toads or other critters in your garden. Shape a bowl on the pottery wheel or hand building (pinch pot, coil, or slump), then carefully cut out an entrance for your amphibian guests, and adding decorative details to personalize your piece. Then vola, you created a homemade home for your critter friends.

Using double pinch pot and other had building techniques, students will construct a vessel that show what bugs them the most. Use of color and glaze will enhance the creator’s message. Join me for this fun filled adventure.

Students will design their own monster in clay. They will learn how to create a pinch pot, coil, and correctly attach items. Through a written reflection they will give their monster a name, birthday, and favorite food as well as explaining what was successful.

This project brings in literature with a story called Clay Boy by Mirra Ginsburg. After reading the story, students are inspired to make their own small clay person using pinch pot and sculpting techniques.

This lesson integrates language arts, visual arts, and drama combined together in the form of a puppet. Students will create a puppet based off a favorite book character of theirs. Once the puppet is complete, the class will watch a puppet show of their peers puppets being interviewed about who they are and what book they are from.

Students will explore the five stages of clay–greenware, leather hard, bone dry, bisque, and glazeware–by measuring and recording changes in weight and appearance. Through STEAM integration, they will use technology to document observations, apply engineering skills to create functional ceramic objects, and compare art with utility.

Students learn about the history of board game player tokens, and build upon this inspiration to design their own ceramic game piece. This project allows for students to utilize coil, slab, and other ceramic hand-building techniques. Students also exercise choice through their game piece design.

Create a functional whistle out of clay using simple tools like popsicle sticks! This hands-on project explores shaping, carving, and airflow mechanics to produce sound. Perfect for all skill levels, it’s a fun way to blend creativity with basic physics.