Elementary school students [Clay making - Myakumyaku]

This year is the year that the Osaka Expo is being held, so I made a Myakumyaku out of clay.

A long time ago, not just a long time ago (lol), when I was three years old, the Osaka World Expo was held. It was the year the Tower of the Sun was built. All I remember is being in the middle of a huge crowd, dancing the folk dance Jenga in a large playground-like place, and getting stepped on by an adult (lol).

Around spring, the plan started with the idea that "Since it's the year of the Expo, let's make a Miyakumyaku!" However, simply making a Miyakumyaku wouldn't be any fun, so we decided on the theme of "a Miyakumyaku doing something." We also decided that the colour of the Miyakumyaku would be "white + two colours of your choice." It is important to work with the clay carefully. Wet any uneven or bumpy areas with a little water to make them smooth. This will make it easier to paint, and your future self (when you colour it next week) will be happy! I explained.

Carefully and thoroughly coloring the fine gaps required patience, but everyone worked tirelessly, switching brushes over and over again to apply the colors. Many students love clay work, so much so that some even overshot the allotted time. The completed myaku-myaku were even more interesting than we imagined, much to the delight of the instructor! They truly always exceed our expectations (lol). I wanted to take a group photo, but some students didn't finish until the following week, so we took the photos separately. We will post the incomplete works of students who were on break later. This time, we used a different clay than usual, one used by people who make figurine prototypes. We painted them with acrylic paint and then applied a matte varnish. The children also seemed to find this clay easy to use, and we plan to use it for the "Next Year's Zodiac Series" in November. Incidentally, next year is the Year of the Horse. I can't wait to see what kind of horse will be born (lol).

Monday Class

Tuesday Class

Thursday Class

Under construction