Family on a Sofa in Clay
Notice everyone is wearing a mask!
Family on a Sofa is one of my favorite projects, and I must credit a most wonderful teacher, Melanie Yulman, with whom I worked years ago with the idea of this most special project and keepsake.
Teacher tip: Before beginning, have a conversation to decide who will be included on the sofa, those grown-ups and siblings that the artist lives with, pets, both real and imaginary.
Pottery Term: slip and score or scratch-attach - a technique used to join two clay pieces. The artist scratches marks on the surface of the clay and then applies slip to the scored surface.
Materials:
clay, either terra cotta or white
plywood - roughly 8” x 4”
canvas surface to work on
glaze - I use Amaco Teacher’s Palette, lead-free and food safe
paintbrushes
cup of water
sponge
wire clay cutter
sharp tool
slip- a liquid mixture of clay in water
garlic press for hair
Begin by cutting a 3/8” slab of clay from your clay block using the wire clay cutter. Cut the slab in half with the sharp tool to have two rectangles. This will become your sofa. Create your sofa from two slabs of clay. Take extra care to scratch-attach the two pieces together. Use extra care to create a stable sofa with scratch-attach.
Making the sofa, the variations are endless -your sofa may include arms or not, and the length can always be shorter than your rectangles. I prefer to keep that sofa reasonably basic so that the artist will add the details to their people instead of getting bogged down with sofa details. Add feet to the sofa when the piece is complete by creating two to three 1/2” clay balls, and add to the base at either end and in the middle if desired.
Now, it’s time to create the people. Decide which family members will be on the sofa. A big family…It’s always possible to have people sit on each other’s lap, and pets frequently sit on the back or arms of the sofa. I find that kiddos don’t need much instruction at this point except perhaps reminding them that each clay piece must be adequately secured with scratch-attach. Add the largest people first and finish with the pets. It’s the details that make this interesting. Hair, especially curly hair, can be created with a garlic press.
If time does not permit completing the project, the clay sofa can be lightly sprayed with a water bottle and covered with plastic to be kept moist.
This piece is complete and ready for drying. I will keep it on the tray to dry. I write the students name and date on the back of the sofa.
Once complete, the sofa needs to completely dry before being fired. It should be kept in a place that is out of reach of those who might be tempted to touch it. The drying-out process will take several days, depending on the environment in the room.
Once the piece has been fired, the next step is to glaze it. I provide a variety of brushes, but make sure to include small brushes to add details, such as facial features. I use Amaco Teacher’s Palette, which is lead-free and food-safe but requires a minimum of 2 coats for each application; more is better. I am also careful about skin color choices; I want the children to spot their skin color in the palette easily.
Once glazed, the piece is fired a second time. Then, it will be ready to pack up to go home and display.
Adding glaze to the fired piece.
Here is a finished piece. Notice the baby sitting on a family members lap and their black cat sitting on the back of the sofa.