Units of Study / ARTS ACHIEVE VISUAL ARTS UNIT: HIGH SCHOOL

Creating Clay Sculptures with Wire Armatures

UNIT SUMMARY | STANDARDS | OUTCOMES | RESOURCES

LESSONS 1-7 | LESSONS 8-20 | LESSONS 21-25

Lessons 1-7

Lessons 1-2

Students receive pictures and diagrams of Animals. Each student chooses an animal and creates a drawing of the animal, focusing on its "basic body plan", which expresses the primary forms that comprise the animal. This prepares them to develop a 3D form from the 2D references. Basic body plan forms are drawn to fit into outlines of students’ individual outlines.

Lessons 3-7

Students are introduced to soft aluminum wire for binding, as well as two different gauge steel wires. The teacher demonstrates using the wire to create a crude gestural form of the animal, which can serve as a solid armature for the clay. Students begin using wire cutters and wire to construct their armatures; they will then center the armature outline (silhouettes) for the head and torso.

In the following lessons, students will build the shoulder and pelvis with the armature wire. Then they’ll shape the legs and attach them to the pelvis and shoulder blades.