Ceramic Leaf Bowl

In this lesson, we got to make a ceramic bowl in the shape of a leaf. To do this, we needed clay. To get our clay ready, we had to knead it to get all the air bubbles out. We tossed it back and forth between our hands and also gently threw it down onto the table top. Each of us got to pick out a stencil of a leaf. (there were about 4 or 5 different types of leaves) Our next step was to roll out our clay big enough for our stencil to fit in it. We placed our leaf stencil on top of the clay and used a cutting tool to cut out the shape of the leaf. Next, we placed a sheet of paper towel in a Styrofoam bowl and set the clay leaf in the bowl. To even out the cracks or bumps in the clay, all we had to do was dab our finger in water and gently rub on the clay. Our last step was to paint and add a little detail to our leaf. Our teachers encouraged us to use falls colors. (red, orange, yellow, maroon) We had to let our clay bowl sit for 24 hours.

For my leaf bowl, I used the colors red, yellow, and orange. I also added a few lines to makes little veins in the leaf and a few tiny clay balls to make it look like it had water droplets on it.

Extension activities Students could make a different shapes out their clay and still form it into a bowl. For example, if the students were discussing the United States, they could form their clay into a state and try to put it in the bowl. They could also form the bowl into some kind of ball such as a basketball, football, soccer ball, etc.