My first graders this year created pumpkins from clay using the pinch pot method. They have Art two fourty-five minute periods per week. Three classes before Halloween, I have the students work with clay. They create a simple pinch pot, turn it over, smooth the rounded sides, pinch a stem on the top and draw a face on it using a paper clip. They also put their initials on the back.

Due to the time crunch, I let the pumpkins dry over night and then I stack them in the small kiln, on low heat (with the lid cracked open) for ten hours. Then the following day, they are dried out enough to start a cone 4 bisque fire. The next class, the first graders learn about glaze, the special paint for clay, as they paint at least four ¨layers¨ of glaze on their pumpkins. I only let the students have the orange glaze at their seats but I call them by groups of four to hand in their pumpkins.

When they come over to hand them in, I have green, brown and black glaze for them to quickly add details. I do this do they do not mix all the glaze together at their tables. They are also limited to how much time they have so they don´t over do it with the other colors. They quickly add black to the face of their jack-o’-lantern and green or brown to the stem. After the class, I loaded the kiln for a cone 5 fire and they will be ready to hand out the last art class before Halloween. Happy Halloween!

Younger art students love to make paper mache pumpkins or jack-o’-lanterns.  Starting with crumbled up newspaper, they shape it the size they want and wrap masking tape around it to hold the form.  After soaking orange construction paper in water for a couple of minutes, the paper can be torn into large sections.  Their little hands rub watered down elmer’s glue all over the orange paper and wrap it around the newspaper ball.  Depending on the thickness of the paper, it may need up to four layers.  

When the ”pumpkin” is dry, a stem, leaves or jack-o’-lantern face can be added.  Although I usually make these with younger students, many upper school students comment “I wanna make one!” when they pass by the pumpkin patch.