Clay Butterflies

The boys have been looking forward to working with clay for so long - everyone in the class enjoys a messy art lesson!

We decided we were going to make clay butterflies, which could be put on display in the school, until the came home with us.



Step 1: 
Everyone in the class received a template of a butterfly, which they had to cut out with scissors. They also received a lump of air - drying clay, which was rolled into a flattened circle, about one or two inches thick, with enough room for the butterfly to fit on it.

Step 2:
Once we had placed the butterfly onto the clay and made sure there was enough room for it, we then used ordinary nails, like the kind you hang up a picture with, to cut around the template until we were left with just the butterfly outline. At this point, the paper could be peeled away, as we had no further use for it.

Step 3:
Once we had got our outline of our butterfly, it was time to add our finishing touches. The children rolled part of the leftover clay to create the center of the butterfly. They used slip, which is a mixture of clay and water to add the center to the outline, and scored the body of the butterfly with toothpicks and skewers to make sure it would stick.
They then used the wooden toothpicks and skewers to add details to the butterfly, making sure that their butterfly was symmetrical on both sides.

Step 4:
The butterflies were then left to dry over the weekend, where they will be painted in art class next week - we can't wait!