Perhaps the most typical application of clay is pottery sculpture. Pottery (excluding types made on a pottery wheel) may be sculpted from pinch pots, coils or slabs.
Pinch pots are formed from a ball of clay. The sculptor presses his thumb into the ball and pinches the edges of the ball until the hole widens and a pot is formed. Coil pots are made from coils that are wrapped around a base again and again, forming the walls of the pot. Coil pots may be smoothed down so the coils are no longer visible, or they may be left in coil form. Finally, slab pots are formed from slabs of clay that are assembled to form the sides and base of the pot. For all of these types of pots, lids may be made and decorations may be added to personalize and beautify the pots.
In this activity, the sculptor begins with a profile of her head traced on a piece of paper (obtained by sitting in front of a projected light source, creating a shadow on a piece of paper that is traced by a partner). These profiles include the side view and the frontal view. The profiles are then transferred to slabs of clay. The side and front profiles are cut out of the clay and put together so that they intersect in the middle, forming a "head" that stands up on its own. Finally, the sculptor puts things inside the head as an abstracted self-portrait. The items that are placed inside the head can be anything at all--this is up to the artist.
A mask is most easily formed from a slab of clay that is laid over a curved surface--a large rock, a shallow bowl or even another mask. Eye holes should be cut. The mask may be half of a face or an entire face and may be decorated as desired.
The "head with things inside" is an abstracted self-portrait, the sculptor can also create a realistic sculpture of herself--either in relief form (meaning that the image is carved and molded into a thickened slab, like a three-dimensional painting with a flat back) or a fully formed three-dimensional bust (a sculpture of a head, neck and shoulders). The sculptor creates this by looking at herself in the mirror and forming the details of her face based on the actual features she sees.