In the studio and classroom this week we created miniature portraits in clay which were then placed with glass jars and plastic bottles – these were then covered with water and the process is being documented by myself and the children through the duration of the project. It was exciting pouring the water onto the finished work and begin to watch the features of the head disintegrate. The work uses the processes of clay due to its breakdown in water to capture deterioration and change within the clay heads. Within an historical context this is known as ‘slaking’ – there are also many contemporary artists using unfired clay in time-based artwork – these include contemporary artists David Cushway, Clare Twomey and Pheobe Cummings. The following images show the development of the artwork and some still images show the beginnings of the changes, be sure to follow the blog to watch the progression of the deterioration.