Fish Bank

[cinnamon teal]

This summer I taught a couple of kids ceramics classes.  One of the projects that I made with my 4-6th graders was animal banks.  (Think piggy banks, but using any animal of your choosing.)  This is my sample project:



The process to make these is fairly simple, though it does involve quite a few steps.  You start by wadding up newspaper into the basic form of your animal.  In this case, it was sort of a fat triangle.  Then you roll out a large sheet of clay and cover over the paper "armature", shaping it into the shape of the body of the animal.  Next you make anything that needs to be attached (eyes, arms and legs, fins, etc.), attach those and cut a coin slot and add a couple other vents.  This one has vents in the form of the mouth and gill slits.  The vents help it to survive the kiln.  Lastly, add any details that you want. 



When you fire the animal, the paper burns out and you are left with a bunch of ashes inside that you can shake out through the coin slot or one of the vents.



I'm pretty happy with the way that the shape came out, but I'm disappointed with the glaze on this guy.  I like the blue and green, but those big black areas around the fins were supposed to be just a slightly darker shade of green.    Oh well.  C'est la vie.



And lastly, a gratuitous doggie pic.

I'd love to hear what you all think of it, as well as any suggestions you might have on ways that I could improve the process.

[nasty_wench]

I totally love it!

[cinnamon teal]

Thanks!!

[1000mph]

maybe add a hole at the bottom to retrieve money?  the hole could be fitted with a cork stopper and kids wouldn't have to destroy their creations if/when they want to get their savings out. 

[Cherry_Chickentoes]

Love it!  I have a "thing" for piggy (or fish) banks.  Show us more!

[cinnamon teal]

maybe add a hole at the bottom to retrieve money?  the hole could be fitted with a cork stopper and kids wouldn't have to destroy their creations if/when they want to get their savings out. 

Thanks for the suggestion! 

I thought about adding a hole with a cork, but I decided against it because most 10 years olds, creative as they might be, don't have the precision necessary (what with the clay shrinkage and all that to consider).  So for the sake of ease, most students made the coin slot fairly large, so they can just shake the coins out the top.  Also, if you angle the cut so that the opening is larger on the inside than the outside, the coins come out easier, too.

[cinnamon teal]

Love it!  I have a "thing" for piggy (or fish) banks.  Show us more!

Thanks, Cherry_Chickentoes!  I would love to show you more, but silly me, I forgot to bring my camera to school so I don't have any pics of the students' work - and this is my only sample.   Sorry!  They made some really cool ones, though.  One students made a toucan, 2 made clams, one made a rat and several made dogs.

[Tanzie]

whoa awsome...the colors are amazing!