HANDS ON CLAY!

“Do you still love clay?” asks a friend recently.

“Yes. Yes, I still do.”

This is an irresistible material. My hard working hands, often overworked these days, nonetheless can’t stay out of the stuff. The kids’ fingers are immediately there-- poking, pinching, making something…

We just got done making 91 ducks over at the fourth grade. This was a truly ambitious project requiring determination, cooperation, focus, hard work, humor and humility. We approached the material, sometimes awkwardly. We worked extra hard on the rough spots, smoothing and reinforcing as needed. We applied our knowledge of our subject, sought out new information, observed carefully and created original ways to express what we saw. We stretched slabs, coiled necks, pinchpotted heads, modeled beaks, added mohawks, painted carefully, sgrafitto-ed feathers, crafted unique touches into our sculptures. Dried them slowly. Handled them with care.

I think that we all pretty much fell in love with the ducks. And many of us will get together again to make something out of clay. It’s really good stuff.

Liz Lewis

-Thanks to Vashon Artists In the Schools