A day of clay at the library

As Benedict Baez, 10, rolled out a block of clay at the Spuyten Duyvil Library’s ceramics class, inspiration struck. 

“Crocodile — oh, perfect idea!” exclaimed the fifth-grade student from the Spuyten Duyvil School (P.S. 24), as his clay began to resemble the animal.

Benedict and a small group of apron-clad students gathered around a table at the library on March 11 for the library’s “Day of Clay” event with teacher P. Oliver, a ceramist herself.  

“All the things that people who work with clay — ceramists — do, you’ll get the chance to do them, too,” Ms. Oliver said. 

Each student used a wire to carve a small chunk of clay off a larger block. 

Before they began to sculpt, Ms. Oliver explained different ceramic techniques, including coiling (rolling clay into a longer piece), pinching to shape the clay, and scoring (using a knife to scratch the surface of two pieces of clay and connect them). 

“Clay has a wonderful memory,” she said. “It remembers the textures that we put on it.” 

The art is a forgiving one, though, she reminded students. 

“If for some reason I don’t want something… I just smooth it out and erase it,” she said. 

Once each student had his or her own block of clay, the aspiring ceramists set to work, flipping through sculpture magazines for inspiration. 

“I was going to make this thing — it’s a triceratops,” said Jean Louis, 11, a sixth-grade student at the David A. Stein Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy (M.S./H.S. 141).

“I like art that looks 3-D. It attracts me, so I think it will attract other people,” he said as he began to carve. 

 P.S. 24 fourth-grade student Alison Dunning, 9, set out to carve a tile with her name on it. 

“It was really cool how the other tile with the boat on it was formed,” she said, referring to one of Ms. Oliver’s samples. 

The girl had some previous sculpting experience, having made a pig out of clay at her house. 

“The pig was a lot easier — the tile is a little bit harder,” she said. 

P.S. 24 fifth-grade student Noah Admassu, meanwhile, was hard at work sculpting his clay. 

“I’m working on an aquarium,” he said. “It’s going great.” 

For students like Benedict, the class presented an opportunity to learn a new art technique. 

“I never really got to do this before, so it’s pretty cool,” he said.