Little clay Valentines were a big hit with after schoolers of all ages. They're quick and easy to make and can be completed in one class. To start I had students roll out five long snakes of clay about the thickness of a pencil. We covered the coils with a damp paper towel to keep them from drying out and then I gave the demonstration on building. We built our hearts on a piece of cellophane that was scrap from our laminator...you can see it in the photo below. Underneath the heart students placed a paper heart that they previously cut from a folded paper. The paper heart serves as a guide for laying out their design. Fill the heart shape with coils and smear everything together with your thumb. Place a hole for hanging if you like. Flip over and add textures to your heart. Let dry and fire.
We're going to paint these hearts with water colors because we're in a hurry to hang them.
