The big block of clay was in a bag and placed in the center of our space. Muons were invited to pick up the bag as we went around the circle talking about any experience with clay we may have had. We talked about where we have found clay (near bodies of water), where the clay we will be using came from (probably Ohio), and the amount of times it will be transported to and from my home the community kiln we will be using.
The clay bag was opened and Muons were invited to choose from a variety of wood, metal, and rubber tools and explore the clay.
I explained the clay plan so far. We will have a total of four clay sessions. The first and second sessions will be spent exploring clay. The third and fourth will be spent on making 2D pieces that will be ready by the Holiday season.
We discussed that clay is made out of minerals and is finer than silt. We discussed clay safety which comes down to, keep everything clean!
We finished class by having a chance to use a hammer on the clay to get a feel for the density. We wrapped a wet towel around the clay to make it softer for next week’s class.