Making It: Programmes 16–26
Programme 26: Qiniso and Friends Make Clay Warthogs

Aims

After watching the programme and participating in the activities, pupils should be able to:

design and make assignments using mouldable materials
explore the sensory qualities of materials and how to use materials and processes
use finishing techniques to strengthen and improve the appearance of a product
communicate design ideas in different ways, bearing in mind aesthetic qualities and the use and purpose for which the product is intended
know how the characteristics of materials affect the ways they are used

Qiniso searches the banks of a stream for some clay. He digs up a big lump, but it is very wet and soggy. Clay that's good for modelling needs to be soft and firm, but not too wet. His friends have some more clay, but theirs is far too dry. It is hard and cracked. Luckily, they can work the hard clay until it is right for model-making.

First, they stamp on the big lumps of dry clay to break them up. Then Qiniso fetches water from the stream and his friends squeeze and squash the clay as he slowly adds the water. After some hard work, they have soft, firm clay, not too wet and not too dry. Perfect!

Qiniso rolls a ball of clay into a long sausage. Then he pulls out the shapes of a snout, some legs and a tail from the main body of the sausage. He pinches out some ears and adds little white pebbles for the eyes. He's making a warthog – an African wild pig. He pushes straws into the warthog's face on either side of the snout to make tusks and adds more straws for the sharp hackles on the warthog's back. He leaves his model with the ones made by his friends to dry out and harden in the bright sunshine.

Curriculum Relevance

Science – changing materials
Art – investigating and making art, craft and design

Background

People have been making things in clay since prehistoric times. When it is wet, clay is soft and easy to mould, but when it is dry, it becomes hard and keeps its shape. More than 20,000 years ago, neolithic people found that clay cups and bowls baked in bonfires became very hard and long-lasting. Hundreds of years later, special ovens called kilns were built that could become much hotter than bonfires. Today, objects made of clay are fired in kilns powered by oil, gas or electricity.

Most clay pots are first baked to make 'biscuit-fired' material, which is sometimes called 'earthenware'. Clay flower pots are biscuit-fired earthenware. A thin substance called glaze can be painted over a biscuit-fired pot and when this pot is returned to the kiln and baked for a second time, the clay is given a hard, shiny surface that is fully waterproof. Glazes come in a whole range of colours and are used to add eye-catching designs to pottery. Cups, plates and mugs can be glazed in this way.

Activities

Make Salt Dough

You won't need a kiln to try these ideas. You could use special 'air-drying' clay, which is sold in model shops. This will dry out and become very hard, and it can then be painted. If you can't find air-drying clay, you could make your own salt dough. Once it has been baked in a microwave oven, it is hard enough to be painted.

You will need: jug of water; salt; plain flour; vegetable oil; cup; teaspoon; big spoon for mixing; mixing bowl; cling film; paper plate.

Mix together 1 cup of salt and 2 cups of flour.
Add a teaspoon of vegetable oil.
Add about half a cup of water and mix well to make a lump of dough.
Work the dough with your hands until it is soft and bendy, but not sticky.
To stop it drying out, wrap your dough in cling film until you want to use it. If you keep it in the fridge it will stay fresh for about 3 days.
When you have made a model with salt dough, stand it on a paper plate.
To bake the dough model, you will need to be supervised by an adult. Put the plate with your dough model in the microwave and cook it for about 2 minutes at high power.
Let your model cool down, then take it out of the microwave. It should be very hard. It is now ready for painting.

Make a Pinch Pot

A pinch pot is one of the simplest things you can mould with your hands.

You will need: clay or salt dough; jug of water; small piece of sponge; a board to work on; acrylic paints (or powder paints mixed with PVA glue); brushes, paper plate (if you are using salt dough).

Take a handful of clay or dough about the size of a tomato and roll it between the palms of your hands until it is a smooth ball.
Make sure the clay or dough doesn't dry out. If you see cracks in the surface of the ball, rub a little water over them until they disappear.
Hold the ball in the palm of one hand. Gently press the middle of the ball with your thumb, to make a thick-walled pot.
Carry on pinching the walls of your pot to make them thinner. Try to keep your pot the same thickness all the way round.
Use a damp sponge to smooth the surface of the pot and get rid of any lines or cracks.
When you are happy with your pot, stand it on a board. If you have used clay, leave your pot to dry out before you paint it. This will probably take a day or two.
If you have used salt dough, you will need to bake your pot on a paper plate in the microwave before you paint it.
Wash your brushes as soon as you finish painting. Acrylic paints (or powder paints mixed with PVA) will become waterproof once they are dry.

Make a Pinch Pot Hedgehog

You will need: clay or salt dough; jug of water; small piece of sponge; a board to work on; pointed stick (a sharp pencil will do); acrylic paints (or powder paints mixed with PVA glue); brushes, paper plate (if you are using salt dough).

First make a round pinch pot.
Put the pinch pot onto a board, with the rim facing down.
Gently pull one side of the pot, so that it becomes oval in shape.
Mould the oval end of the pot into the snout of the hedgehog.
Use a sharp point to mark eyes on either side of the snout.
Draw lots of short lines into the body of the hedgehog to make its spines.
If you have used clay, leave your pot to dry out before you paint it. This will probably take a day or two.
If you have used salt dough, you will need to bake your pot on a paper plate in the microwave before you paint it.
Wash your brushes as soon as you finish painting. Acrylic paints (or powder paints mixed with PVA) will become waterproof once they are dry.

Make a Pinch Pot Pig

Make two round pinch pots of the same size and thickness.
Use a sharp point to cut a criss-cross pattern around the rims of both pots.
Rub a little water over the criss-cross pattern.
Now press the two rims gently together. Wet your fingers and rub all over the join between the pots, until the clay or dough smudges and joins together. You should now have a round, hollow ball, which will be your pig's body.
Use a damp sponge to smooth the surface of the pot and get rid of any lines or cracks.
Gently pinch the base of the pot and pull out four short, stumpy legs.
Pull a snout from the front of your pig's body. You can also pinch out little ear shapes.
Use a pointed stick to mark a mouth with spiky teeth.
Add tiny balls of clay or dough to make some piggy eyes. You can stick them to the pig's body with a little water. Press them gently but firmly into place.
Roll a short sausage of clay or dough. Coil it up and add it to the pig's bottom to make a tail.
When you are happy with your pot, stand it on a board. If you have used clay, leave your pot to dry out before you paint it. This will probably take a day or two.
If you have used salt dough, make a hole about the size of a 2p coin on the underside of your pig. This will allow the air to come out when your model is baked. If you don't do this, your pot may crack, or even explode.
Bake your salt dough model on a paper plate in the microwave and then paint it.
Wash your brushes as soon as you finish painting. Acrylic paints (or powder paints mixed with PVA) will become waterproof once they are dry.
Why not make a set of pinch pot animals? How about a cow, a dog, a cat or a chicken?

Links

This web page contains links to other websites that are neither controlled nor maintained by Channel 4 Television. Channel 4 Television is not responsible for the content of these sites and does not necessarily endorse the material on them.

Find out more about clay modelling:
www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/art/howto/clay/index.shtml

Visit this online gallery about clay models at the Victoria and Albert Museum:
www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/terracottas/content.html

Find out about animal sculpture through history:
www.successlink.org/great2/g1566b.html

Making It: Programmes 16–26 Programme 26: Qiniso and Friends Make Clay Warthogs