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At Home

• Help your Brownie find more ways clay and ceramics are used in your home.
• Make some homemade clay and experiment with pots or figures. An example recipe is included below.

Cornstarch Clay Recipe

This clay has a bright white color and crystalline, sparkling look when dry. It is somewhat brittle, but takes small details and edges well. Roll it flat and use cookie cutters to make ornaments or plaques. Use leaves or rubber stamps to make impressions, then paint the dried clay with watercolors to bring out each leaf vein or fine line.

2 cups of baking soda, usually 1 box

1 cup of cornstarch

1 1/3 cups water

Directions:

1. Stir together all ingredients in saucepan with a large spoon until well mixed.

2. Cook over medium heat until it turns into the consistency of mashed potatoes.

3. Remove from heat immediately.

4. Knead the clay a little when it is cool enough to touch.

This clay air hardens, so keep in tightly sealed container until you want to use it. You can also speed up drying time by baking it in a 200-degree oven for an hour.

From: Girl Scouts River Valleys

Potter

Visit an art gallery or museum.

Ask your Brownie volunteer to help you find a clay exhibit or gallery with pottery.

Remember that pottery can break easily. Be respectful of artwork!

From: Girl Scouts USA

Look for clay in your life.

It's all around you at your house, at your school, in your community. See how many things made of clay you can spot in a week.

FOR MoRE FUN: Have a scavenger hunt with friends and see how many things you can find that are made of clay.

From: Girl Scouts USA

Look in books, magazines, or online for clay things.

Did you know that false teeth used to be made out of clay? What else can you find that was made from clay?

FOR MORE FUN: Paste pictures of what you find in your artist notebook.

From: Girl Scouts USA

Discussion (10 min)

Clay Is for Everyday

Step 1—Find some pottery

1. Hand out paper and writing utensils. Tell the girls that they are going to hear a story about someone's ordinary day, and they are going to keep track of all the tasks she does and when she does them.

2. Read the story, leaving some pauses where girls may need to make notes.

Clarissa’s Day

Clarissa woke up to a beautiful, sunny day and knew it was perfect for her big yard project. She got up early and made herself a pot of peppermint tea. She poured some tea into her favorite mug and sipped it while reading the newspaper, taking out the shiny coupon and ad inserts for later. After a quick breakfast and a quick clean-up of a spill on the kitchen tile floor, she hurried out the door. She already had some herbs growing in pots on her windowsill. She had filled the pots with potting soil and planted

the seeds a month ago, and they were showing good progress. The master plan, however, was for a backyard patio with a fire pit and a little fountain in a pond.

Soon, her friend Viola, who had promised to help today, arrived. Together, they brought loads of bricks for building the patio and fire pit. Viola started placing the bricks while Clarissa dug out the space for the pond and filled in the liner to hold the water. On a future day, they would put in plants around the outside of the pond.

Viola had plans to play tennis that afternoon, and also planned to stop in to see her mother and bring her some medicine for her stomach flu. When Viola left, Clarissa made herself a homemade pizza on her pizza stone and decided to relax with a nice, long bath, including a facial mud mask

and bubble bath. It had been a good day.

3. Have the girls report back the tasks they recorded. Ask them if they think that any of the tasks use clay or ceramics. Since clay and clay minerals can show up in unexpected places, point out that even if

their guess doesn’t sound like an example of clay or ceramics, it still might be.

4. Go through the list of clay examples below and point out anything the girls missed.

Appearances of clay and clay minerals:

Mugs, coffee cups, pottery bowls, china plates

Liner material for artificial ponds, dams, landfills

Printing on magazines and glossy newspaper inserts

Tennis court

Ceramic tile

Anti-diarrheal medicine (kaolin clay—Kaopectate)

Flower pots

Baking stones, some cooking pots

Soil additive—vermiculite

Porcelain sinks and tubs

Bricks

Facial mask

From: Girl Scouts River Valleys

Paper

Writing utensils

Potter  1

Game (10 min)

Clay Is for Everyday Word Search

Step 2—Get to know clay

1. Distribute the word search and writing utensils.

2. Read aloud the pottery terms below and ask girls to share the definition of each, if known. If girls do not know the definitions of these key pottery terms, review the provided definition with the group.

Pottery Terms Definition

Wedge - Kneed clay by hand to work out air bubbles in order to have useable clay

Fire - To bake the clay until it is hardened

Kiln - An oven designed to reach very high temperatures to bake clay

Score - To scratch tiny lines on two pieces of clay that you want to stick together

Sculpt - Carve a design or object out of clay

Glaze - Special paint for clay that changes color during the firing process

3. Give girls some time to work on their pottery word searches.

From: Girl Scouts River Valleys

Word Search

Clay is for Everyday Word Search.pdf

Writing utensils

Potter 2

Visit with a clay expert!

Ask this person to tell you about scoring, storing, wedging, and firing, and why each of these is important.

From: Girl Scouts USA

Make a pinch pot.

See the directions for help. Hint: In step 2, start pinching at the bottom of your container and move slowly to the top.

From: Girl Scouts USA

Make a coil pot.

A coil pot is made from "coils" of clay. See the directions for help.

FoR MoRE FUN: Stack your coils into interesting shapes!

From: Girl Scouts USA

Make a slab pot.

A slab is a piece of clay rolled flat. See the directions for help.

FoR MoRE FUN: Try building a pot on a triangular or square base.

From: Girl Scouts USA

Decorate a tile.

Turn a square of clay into art. Try making a handprint or stamping a design with rubber stamps. You can also use small tools, like a pencil or tweezers, to draw designs in your tile. When it's dry, paint it with acrylic paints.

FOR MORE FUN: Find pictures oftiles from other countries and copy one of the designs.

From: Girl Scouts USA

Make a pinch or slab sculpture.

Make a clay sculpture of a house, pet, car, or animal. Make "hair," grass, or other decoration by squeezing clay through a garlic press.

FOR MORE FUN: Make a sculpture of something you like to imagine, like a castle or a spaceship.

From: Girl Scouts USA

Make beads for jewelry.

Roll balls of clay into beads. Then use a straw, toothpick, or pencil to make holes so you can string them together. You could make them out of colored modeling clay or paint plain clay.

Tip: Clay is heavy to wear, so keep your beads small.

From: Girl Scouts USA

Craft (25 min)

Sculpture Jars

Step 4—Make an art piece

Optional: Let the girls know a few weeks ahead of time to save glass jars with metal lids, such as jam, salsa, peanut butter and spaghetti sauce jars. They should bring empy, washed and dried jars to the meeting.

Girls will be decorating jar lids.

1. Have each girl choose a base color for her jar lid. She’ll create a thin sheet of clay to cover the lid as completely as possible without interfering with the closing of the jar. Girls can use rolling pins to roll out the dough, wrap it over the jar lid, and then use a knife to cut off the excess. Smooth and press down the clay, and make sure it goes right over the edge to encase the lid, as long as the jar still closes.

2. Have the girls use additional colors to continue decorating their lids. The lid itself still needs to be functional, so any three-dimensional figures need to reach no more than one inch above the lid.

Decorations can be shapes cut out of rolled-out clay, patterns scratched in with toothpicks or small figures added on top.

3. Polymer clay must be fired in an oven to harden. You can give the girls the instructions and have them fire their lids at home, take care of them at your meeting space if ovens are available, or you or

another adult volunteer can fire them and bring them back. The jars themselves can then be used for candles, sand paintings or as containers for gift items.

From: Girl Scouts River Valleys

Polymer clay, such as Fimo or Sculpey (approximately 2 oz. per girl or more if the jars are large)

Glass jars with metal lids (one per girl)

Paper

Writing utensils

Assorted molding tools, such as toothpicks, plastic knives, rolling pins and/or polymer clay tools

Potter 4

Craft (25 min)

Cornstarch Clay Recipe

This clay has a bright white color and crystalline, sparkling look when dry. It is somewhat brittle, but takes small details and edges well. Roll it flat and use cookie cutters to make ornaments or plaques. Use leaves or rubber stamps to make impressions, then paint the dried clay with watercolors to bring out each leaf vein or fine line.

2 cups of baking soda, usually 1 box

1 cup of cornstarch

1 1/3 cups water

Directions:

1. Stir together all ingredients in saucepan with a large spoon until well mixed.

2. Cook over medium heat until it turns into the consistency of mashed potatoes.

3. Remove from heat immediately.

4. Knead the clay a little when it is cool enough to touch.

This clay air hardens, so keep in tightly sealed container until you want to use it. You can also speed up drying time by baking it in a 200-degree oven for an hour.

From: Girl Scouts River Valleys

Potter 4

Craft (30 min)

Kool-Aid Kreatures

Step 4—Make an art piece

1. Help girls measure out their ingredients into a bowl or sealable plastic bag, or pre-measure dry ingredients into bags prior to meeting.

2. Direct girls to use their hands to mix ingredients together until they form dough.

3. Girls can then choose a color for their Kool-Aid Kreatures. Help girls place one to two drops of food coloring on the ball of dough, then instruct them to continue to mix the dough until the color is well incorporated.

4. Once the dough has been made, encourage girls to make a creature with their Kool-Aid dough. This creature can take whatever form they wish, and can be as realistic or as crazy as they want.

From: Girl Scouts River Valleys

Sealable gallon-size plastic bags or bowls for mixing clay

Paper towels

Paint shirts or aprons to protect girls’ clothing

Kool-Aid play dough materials (per girl):

o 1 c. flour

o 1/2 c. salt

o 1 Tbsp. cooking oil

o 2 tsp. cream of tartar

o 1 pkg. unsweetened Kool-Aid

o 1 c. water

o Food coloring

Potter 4

Craft (20 min)

Edible Paint

o Make “paint” frosting prior to the meeting (up to one day in advance; preferably day-of).

1. Talk with the girls about the art of painting and ask them about their favorite things and ways to paint, such as watercolor pictures, finger-painting and pictures of their families.

2. Go over some pottery painting and glazing fun facts with the girls:

Pottery can be painted or glazed, which are very different processes.

Glazing is a process in which you apply a glaze to the ceramic piece; once dry, the piece must be fired in a kiln again. Glazes generally appear very neutral when they are applied, but once fired they turn into bright, vibrant and often very shiny colors.

You can also apply color to a ceramic piece by painting it. If applying a design to the piece, it is often easier to use paint instead of glaze. When you use paint, you can see direct results;

when you use glaze, you don’t know exactly where the color will be. And, although glazes are marked with labels indicating their color, colors will vary depending on the heat at which it is fired and where it is placed in the kiln.

3. Lay out the materials and tell the girls they will be making an edible painting.

4. Girls will use “paint” frosting and unused paint brushes to paint pictures on their cookies.

From: Girl Scouts River Valleys

o Unused paintbrushes

o Paper towels

o “Paint” frosting

o Large sugar cookies (one per girl)

Potter 5

Craft (25 min)

Step 5—Paint and glaze 

Decide on an oven-baked or a no-fire paint, and plan accordingly for

either giving firing/baking instructions to families or planning to keep or finish the items at your home or meeting place.

Make a practice piece at home before trying with it the girls.

Glazes for pottery must be fired in a kiln, which most people do not have.

There are many kinds of paints used for glass or multiple surfaces. Gallery Glass comes in a tube and air dries. Glass markers from Deco Art or Pebeo Vitrea 160, or Liquitex Glossies paints will dry to tacky in your

meeting time and dry thoroughly overnight, or can be baked in an oven to set. The heat set versions are more durable, though all of these can still be damaged if put to hard use. You can also paint with ordinary

acrylic paint, and the paint is less likely to flake or scratch off if you paint the tiles first with a ceramic sealant. Be sure to include information on the material used when sending your family message.

1. Introduce girls to clay tiles with the information below.

Clay tiles have been used all over the world to decorate floors and walls, and can be found in many shapes—either plain or with designs pressed into the wet clay. Tiles are fired in a kiln to a

hard finish to protect them and like other pottery, can have colors added with glaze that is fired again. We are going to make our own art tile designs without using a kiln. Glass paints will keep some of that glossy finish typical of the fired tiles.

Geometric designs are common, especially when an entire wall will be covered with the repeating pattern. Many look similar to quilt patterns, or have four- or eight-sided shapes or

symmetry.

2. Let the girls know what to expect regarding how much time it will take to finish their tiles, including drying time. This will depend on the type of paints you are using.

3. Tell the girls they can use the scratch paper if they want to sketch a design and they may be able to draw lightly in pencil on the tile before painting it.

4. Before girls start on their tiles, write each girl’s name or initials on the bottom of her tile with permanent marker.

5. Have the girls create a design on their tile with the paint and set aside to dry.

From: Girl Scouts River Valleys

Plain, white tiles, about 4" square

Sandpaper (if tiles are glazed, you may need to sand the surface to help the paint stick to it)

Paint for glass or multi-use:

Newspaper, tablecloths or other ways to protect your work surface

Brushes (unless using Gallery Glass in tubes or markers) and cups of water for clean up

Optional: Pictures of decorative tile patterns

Scratch paper and pencils for sketches

Permanent marker

Potter 5