Nature Crafts : Clay Tiles
Clay can be used in many ways, and this simple project is a great way of making tiles or plaques which can be hung up in the house to bring a bit of nature into the home. Take a walk through the forest, and pick some examples of foliage (leaves, grasses, ferns, etc.) and use them to make impressions in the soft clay.
Remember to pop a few holes into the clay to allow the plaque to be hung on a string, or, alternatively, use a plate stand to display the plaques !
And it doesn't just have to be foliage. You can use anything that will leave an impression ! You might be able to persuade Tiddles the cat to let you take an impression of her paw-print, or maybe you can take an impression of your wee brothers hand print ? If it can be pressed into the clay, then it can be used to make an impression.
(Impression - a mark, indentation, figure, etc., produced by pressure.) Dictionary.com
Now ... what Granny WOULDN'T want one of these ?
Clay paw print.
Photo by Zakhar Vozhdaienko: https://www.pexels.com/photo/animal-track-on-sand-17489433/
Making a Clay Plaque
Clay pots are always fun to make, and they are not particularly difficult to put together. You will need ...
A tennis ball sized lump of air drying clay.
Water
A rolling pin
Baking paper (to lay your plaque on to dry)
Foliage/leaves (or any other thing you want to impress into the clay).
a hard smooth surface to work on.
Paper towels for cleaning hands.
Optional ...
Paint, comb for 'dragging' patterns into the clay, cocktail sticks, decorative items, something to make a hole in the clay for 'hanging' the plaque if required.
Making your pot ...
Step 1 : Gather the objects with which you hope to make impressions. If you ARE using Tiddles the cat, be careful ... cats can be very uncooperative !
Step 2 : Take your clay and roll it flat with the rolling pin. Ideally the clay should be about 5mm thick.
Step 3 : Carefully lay the items onto the clay, arranging them so that they look aesthetically pleasing. (This just mean that they should be arranged so that they are "visually attractive or beautiful, something that evokes a sense of pleasure when seen."
Step 4 : Use the rolling pin to gently push the items gently into the clay. Be careful not to press so hard that the items become mis-shapen, but be sure to use enough pressure to accurately capture the fine detail of the foliage. Please don't use the rolling pin on Tiddles the cat.
Step 5 : Carefully remove the items from the clay, checking to see if enough detail has been captured. If not, start again.
Step 6 : Leave the clay plaque to dry for a day or two !
You could take this project and develop it ... see the videos below for examples of this.
No cats were harmed in the writing of this webpage !
Making a clay dish
Leaf shaped bowl
Making a plaque
Points to ponder ...
This can be a quick and easy task to undertake. It does, though, mean that you will be asking the children to go out and collect leaves, fronds of fern and samples of grasses, and this is not something we would normally want to children to do.
Usually we SHOULD be telling children NOT to damage trees and plants. We should be encouraging them to look after their environment, and not just when out and about in the forest.
In this case, thought, we can use this activity to talk to the children about conservation. Sometimes it is necessary to take, from the environment, what we need, but it is important to stress that we must avoid causing damage.
So ... take a leaf, but don't break a branch.
Pick some ferns ... but try to pick ferns from different clumps of ferns. Don't just go ripping up a whole plant. Teaching the children to look after natural environments when they are young will encourage them to grow into caring and compassionate adults.
Delayed Gratification.
We live in a world where we all want things NOW ! We complain if someone doesn't reply to a d.m. immediately, or if we are told that out latest Amazon delivery will take TWO WHOLE DAYS to get to us. We have become a society where we expect things to happen immediately (instant gratification), and that's not healthy !
This task teaches children that sometimes we have to wait to see the 'fruits of our labours'. This is a valuable life lesson. Sometimes they need to learnt to wait, and that's ok !