Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Clay Birds on Driftwood II

Finished Birds


Scanning the beach for driftwood


Aha! Jackpot!


Air dry clay birds ready for paint

Children got to choose their own perfect perch






Katie, 2nd grade added a few eggs for her mama bird



I did this project last spring inspired by some gorgeous clay birds on wood I saw at New City Arts. I was excited to try it again with a new group of K-4th graders. After their clay birds were dry, the children painted them with acrylics using real bird photos as their inspiration. They chose the perfect driftwood perch from my collected pieces. I added a coat of Mod Podge and glue gunned their bird to the wood. Only drawback, Air Dry clay is a bit fragile and I've had to mend a few broken wings. I'm finding my trusty glue gun doesn't adhere well with this material. Any suggestions on a good glue for clay repairs?

7 comments:

  1. What a terrific idea, Mary. These are just TOO CUTE!!!

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  2. This bird project is beautiful.
    I like how you placed the birds in the landscape.
    I love them all.

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  3. I am very jealous of your driftwood collection!
    These turned out beautifully.
    I don't work with airdry clay though so I'm no help there. I find that a thin gel superglue works best on our broken clay pieces but it still doesn't look 100%.

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  4. Mary, Mary, Mary!!

    I get so homesick for the beach when I see your little birdies on driftwood! All those years, growing up South of Santa Cruz, and you would think I'd have hauled some driftwood back to the Midwest wouldn't you? I guess I'll have to troll the Missouri River's edge this summer to find some of that beautiful wood. My favorite is the little blue bird of happiness!

    :)Pat

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  5. Agreed- jealous of your beautiful driftwood. I am sadly landlocked where I live :( These turned out so cute!

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  6. Hi - I have found GOOP adhesive works wonderfully!
    Love your site!

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  7. Greetings! I found your blog through the fascination award contest. I really like your projects and could adapt many of them to my middle school students. I did clay birds once years ago but the driftwood adds another dimension to the project. Like! The snake wrapped around a tree one is good too since a lot of kids seem to have a constitutional resistance to overlapping. If I try them, I will be sure to let you know how they work out! -Cheers! Rachel Wintemberg

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