Making Masks

I did my second Clay Teacher Friday. It went well. I did masks with some kids from Sanctuary http://www.ecsd.net/programs/alternative_education.html . The kids there have some behavior problems and are not a part of the regular school system. But kids are kids and they responded well to the clay. I learned one thing with these kids, set some boundaries. I like to give students the freedom to make any face, with the clay, they like. So saying that they have freedom, without specifying that freedom is limited to facial features was a mistake. Next time I will say they can make any kind of face they like, but have to keep their project in the confines of social acceptance. A boy put a symbol on his mask that could be very offensive to many people. He refused to take it off and things were starting to slide into a confrontation between him and the teachers. He was not working on the mask and it was affecting the energy and the rest of the students in the class. We were all having fun and working up until that point. I suggested that he could leave the symbol there, just cover it with a small piece of clay. That way he could get what he wanted and it wouldn’t offend anyone else. It seemed to work. I made a very thin pancake of clay, he covered the symbol, smoothed down the little piece of clay, and all was well. What he didn’t realize is that there is no way that clay can be removed, especially after I helped it along and made sure it was stuck. The cover up is there, and after it is fired, it is there in stone. If he tries to expose his bigotry, either real or just put on for the class, he will destroy his mask.

It was an interesting morning. The teacher said that they seldom settle and work for 90 minuets. But these kids did. They tried hard and did some nice work.

Until next time.

Cindy

The Clay Teacher