Clay Tips

I love to teach clay! It is my favorite medium, and the students really enjoy it. In the past, I have always had such a hard time with writing names on the clay. I usually have the students so this, but the writing is sometimes illegible or gets rubbed off. I have found a great solution to this problem from Arts and Activities, and it works really well. I bought alphabet pasta and dumped some in bowls at every table. When students are finished working for the day, they find the letters in their name and spell it out on the bottom of their clay piece. I also have them spell their teacher's name, so I can keep the classes together. The pasta goes in the kiln, and burns away, leaving the imprint of the name. Keep in mind, this only works if it is a one day project. It will be fine if the same group of kids are coming back the next day, but the pasta molds after a few days (I found this out the hard way). This has eased the stress of trying to read crazy handwriting on pottery.