Clay tea light holders
For the final 2 weeks of the Winter term workshop, we stuck to model making, but this time switching to clay and a little bit of a festive theme. With many of the children having used clay for the first part of the workshop, this activity gave them the opportunity to use some of the skills learned and develop them further. To make the tealight holders we started with partially inflated balloons to use as a mould for the clay. Once little hands had got the knack of coordinating their hand movements to shape the clay around the balloon, they were encouraged to explore textures and patterns with all the available tools. Simple, repeat patterns were encouraged – and as the children got to grips wit the moulding process, they were able to make 2, 3 or even 4 vessels.
The final week saw the completion of the tealight holders, using a range of metallic paints, keeping the surfaces simple to highlight the patterns the children had made in the clay the previous week. The results were really stunning and perfect for Christmas – the metallic paints are so effective when the candles are lit, creating a beautiful shimmering surface.
