What we offer:

Mold To Magic: Clay Platter Design Wednesdays Ages 5-10 4:30pm - 5:30pm (April 8 - May 20) 7 weeks Have you always wanted a racoon-wizard platter for your next pizza party and just can't seem to find one anywhere?! Welp, here's your chance to make one! In this class students will learn how to design and produce multiples of their own customized ceramic platters using earthenware clay. Starting with a simple outline sketch of a shape, students will design their own unique heirloom platter using that shape as a template. We'll teach students how to build “ring molds” using coils of clay, that will be kiln fired and used as a custom mold to shape a slab of clay for the platter. The cool thing is that this mold can then be used over and over again to mass produce a platter with the exact same specifications every time! Our goal will be to create at least two platters per student. We will also have the opportunity to swap molds and make another classmate's platter. Lastly, we will treat the bisqueware platter as a blank canvas to glaze it as if it were a unique painting. Once finished, the platters will be food safe and ready to use. This is a great 'design-build' concept class for budding engineers. Handbuilding functional wares have specific form/function pieces and parts relationships that vertically integrate into a deeper understanding of designing unique or mass produced functional objects. Week 1: Paper template design / schema for surface design with dry materials collage and drawing. Week 2: Construct "ring molds" for platters/plates using clay (fired over weekend) Week 3: Using the fired ring molds we will start making our first platter. Week 4: Swap with a friend! Use someone else’s ring mold to make another platter. Week 5: Glaze practice tile 10"x10" (all platters and tiles bisque fired this week) Week 6: Glaze day Week 7: Glaze day Final platters fired / ready for pickup Week of May 26.