ELEMENTARY

Leigh Drake

Clay has always been my students’ favorite medium to explore. It’s the medium they request starting on day one of art class. For this project, students ventured into making clay pieces that produce sound when strung together as whimsical ceramic wind chimes.

Discussing Nature
Nature is always a hot topic for students at any age. All aspects of nature—from plant life to wildlife—touch people’s hearts in a way that other things don’t. As a class, we reflected on the types of environments in our community here in Virginia, from the vast mountain landscapes to the beaches, which are literally in students’ backyards. We discussed the importance of protecting our environment and building a world of nature advocates. Students then wrote in their sketchbooks about their experiences with nature.

Creating the Chimes
Next, I introduced the assignment: Students were asked to design a wind chime that reflects their experiences with nature. I encouraged them to create six to eight clay pieces for the chimes. Each chime would be a symbol for their concept of nature; they could use a repeated design or create a different design for each chime.

Students were asked to design a wind chime that reflects their experiences with nature.

Students experimented with the clay and made their chimes no larger than 2" (5 cm) to 3" (7.5 cm) in either direction. After creating their chimes, students used a straw to make a small hole at the top of each piece so that string or fishing line could be fed through once the chime was fired.

After the pieces were fired once, students used glaze to finish off their designs, and the pieces were fired again. Students strung their pieces with fishing line or string, then they hung their chimes on a stick of their own choosing.

Priyanshi, grade three.

Testing Out Sound
We took the final designs outside to experiment with and hang on various structures to test the sound quality of the chimes. This helped students determine if they needed to make any adjustments before taking their wind chimes home. Students loved creating these fun, musical designs for their homes. This experience really hooked them into ceramic art-making; it encouraged them to add beauty to their world through art and music.

Jamie, grade three.

Leigh Drake is the visual fine arts instructional specialist for Virginia Beach City Public Schools. leigh.drake@vbschools.com   Nature Chimes