Please get out a sheet of paper and writing utensil! Animal Bank Please get out a sheet of paper and writing utensil!

So why do we save our coins in a piggy bank? During the Middle Ages metal was expensive and seldom used for household items. Instead, dishes and pots were made of an economical clay called pygg.

Whenever people could save an extra coin, they dropped it into one of their clay jars.They called this their pygg bank. Over the next two hundred to three hundred years, people forgot that "pygg" referred to the earthenware material.

A play on words led to the creation of banks made in the shape of a pig

Animal with skinny legs? It must be lying down. No standing ponies or unicorns!!

Start with Two Pinch Pots 1/2 inch thick Edges should be the same size and join together

Score and Slip Scoring: scratching lines into clay Slip: clay suspended in water (smushy clay)

Score the edge of both pinch pots --> it creates a surface that sticks together

Put slip into the scored edges of both pinch pots Slip acts as a sort of “glue” to help stick the pots together --> push the pots firmly together

Add a coil of clay into the crack and smooth over

Roll and pat your sphere into the desired animal shape

Add details and decorations Make a slit for the coins (remember your clay will shrink!) Ask Ms. Wiens for a circle to trace the bottom opening for the cork

States of Clay - Wet to Dry Plastic - Soft, wet clay that is easy to mold. Leather hard - Clay that is dry enough to hold it shape, but is still wet enough to be molded and carved Bone dry - Clay that lightens in color and becomes brittle, no moisture remains.

Plastic Clay Use this type of clay when: First beginning a project, making the basic shape of a sculpture Throwing on the wheel

Leather Hard Clay Use this clay when: Joining slabs or pieces Adding details Carving/incising

Bonedry Use this clay for: Lightly sanding with a green scrubber Avoid working with a dry project, its very likely to break!! Leave your project on the shelves on the left or front walls so I know you’re finished and want it fired

Do not let your project become dry unless you are completely finished! Always wrap up your work in plastic to keep it workable!!!!!

shrinkage Contraction of clays in drying and firing. Caused by the loss of water and the achieving of molecular density. Your project will shrink by 10-15% as it dries and is fired

Earthenware a low-fire pottery, usually red or tan, used in the original pygg or piggy banks (ex. Terra cotta)

Stoneware a high-fire ware that is usually gray in color, when fired is nearly non-porous