Clay Cupcakes (5th)

I'm so excited to finally get to post this one!! Over the past month, all my 5th grade rotations have been making clay cupcakes (very similar to the ones I did with art club.. but a little different process).
The first day we looked at the artist's Claes Oldenburg and Wayne Thiebaud which inspired our cupcake themed clay project!
Afterwards students rolled a piece of clay into a ball and created a simple pinch-pot. Then they took that pinch-pot and pressed it into a silicone cupcake mold. Once it was firmly pressed in and the top flattened (by flipping it upside-down and pressing it onto a flat surface), students popped their clay pieces out by flipping the silicone mold inside-out. Then they wrote their initials into the bottoms using a carving tool.
On day two, each student got a piece of paper with a circle printed on it (circles were measured to a similar circumference to that of the top of the silicone cupcake mold so that the top part would sit nicely on the bottom). Students created a long coil (about the width of their thumbs) and spiraled their coil into a cone on top of their printed circles. Once their cone was created, they carefully picked them up and smoothed the inside of the cone with their fingers (we did this method instead of scoring and slipping - SOOOOO MUCH EASIER!). Then students had the option of using a plastic clay tool to smooth the lines a bit on the outside of their cones. Initials were written on the inside.
After their clay pieces were done, students worked on some Wayne Thiebauld inspired drawings for the rest of the week while their clay dried out.
It wasn't until this past week when I had my first group of 5th graders who I'd already done clay with.. so they just now finally got a chance to paint their bisqued cupcakes with tempera paint! Students were given the primary colors and white.. and were told they'd have to mix any other color they'd like. On the second day of painting, I also let them use glitter glue if they wanted.
Once they were dry I gave them a quick passover with an aerosol glossy modge-podge (although they probably could've used another coat). The results...... :)

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13 comments

  1. These are so vibrant and bright! The glitter glue is a nice touch :)

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  2. Just saw this post!! I think I understand what you did with the coils! Thanks for sharing!

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  3. They turned out great! Thank you for your post. It really helped me!!
    http://spaldingart.blogspot.com/2014/04/3rd-grade-clay-cupcakes.html

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  4. Did you have any trouble with the clay splitting when you flipped it out of the silicon mold?

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  5. They look amazing! I love Wayne Thiebaud's work. Did you attach the coil to the cup bottom? If so, using scratch and slip or just smoothing? And also, did you put a hole somewhere to let it breathe during firing?

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  6. Are the silicone molds for a standard size cupcake or for minis?

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  7. Please help! The silicone molds I look at seem SOOO flimsy. Were these sturdy? What brand did you use?

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  8. Thank you! Did they hold up well? How many uses did you get with them?

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  9. Yes they hold up really well! You just use the mold to shape the bottom of the cupcake and then flip it out.. so you can use it over and over again.

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