Clay Modelling

School Library Journal

Gr 3-6-Both of these books will delight young crafters. The projects are interesting, easy to make, useful, and decorative. A two-page spread gives the basic tools and materials needed. Children are warned to ask for adult help when necessary. Procedures are clearly delineated by numbers within colored circles. Potentially unfamiliar words appear in bold type and are defined in the glossary. The back of each book has patterns that can be reproduced. Papier M ch describes two basic techniques: using paper strips and using paper pulp. The crafts were inspired by various cultures, and include a picture frame with a Mogul Indian motif, a Latin-American Carnival headdress, a Mexican bowl, a cat reminiscent of the Egyptian goddess Bastet, an Aztec jewelry set, and an African pencil pot painted to look like kente cloth. Explanations of more sophisticated techniques, such as using molds, are imbedded in the projects themselves. Clay Modeling uses air-drying clay to make a cat, a tiger, a flower pot, a bowl, and more, although the models can be created with traditional clay if the child has access to a kiln. The general techniques section clearly describes and illustrates methods of pinching out shapes, coiling, rolling clay, using a pattern for flat shapes, using cookie cutters, creating textures, attaching and joining pieces, drying, and painting with acrylics and poster paints.-Lynda Ritterman, Atco Elementary School, NJ Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.