PLANT PEOPLE - Clay Sculpture
SEASON 7 | PROJECT 4/48 | 02.01.26
MODULE: Ceramics | GRADE LEVELS: TK - 6 | DURATION: 1 Hour
ARTIST VIDEO
Video Editing by Jorge Davies, Graphics by Melissa Sabol
PROJECT VIDEOS
OVERVIEW
In this hands-on clay sculpture project, students will create an imaginative three-dimensional “Plant Person” by blending plant forms with subtle human features. Inspired by artist John Flores, whose work merges cacti and human figures, students explore how humans and nature are deeply connected.
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Through brainstorming, building, and hands-on problem-solving, students learn foundational clay techniques, including forming strong bases, securely attaching parts using the scoring technique, and working from large shapes to small details. The project encourages creativity, curiosity, and self-expression while introducing sculpture as a powerful way to tell stories about identity, resilience, and belonging.
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Each finished sculpture becomes a unique being—part plant, part human—reflecting the student’s imagination and lived experience.
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT​
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Form & Structure – Students learn that three-dimensional forms must be built with intention. Balance, weight, and strong foundations matter. Through hands-on construction, students come to understand that ideas—like sculptures—need structure and support in order to stand on their own.
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Connection to Nature – By blending plant and human forms, students explore the idea that people are part of the natural world, not separate from it. This reframing builds environmental awareness and empathy for living systems through imaginative play rather than instruction.
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Identity & Individuality – Creating a hybrid “Plant Person” allows students to express who they are without the pressure of realism. Hidden faces, unexpected features, and invented bodies validate difference, showing students that being unique—or even misunderstood—can be a source of strength.
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Problem-Solving & Resilience – Working with clay builds patience and perseverance. Pieces crack, collapse, or don’t behave as planned, inviting students to adapt and problem-solve in real time. Through rebuilding and reimagining their forms, students learn that persistence and flexibility are essential skills in both artmaking and life.
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Process Over Perfection – Working from big forms to small details emphasizes thinking, planning, and revision over quick results. Students learn that meaningful work takes time, and that craftsmanship develops through patience, intention, and care—not speed.
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Storytelling Through Sculpture – Each finished piece becomes a character with its own presence and story. Students learn that sculpture can communicate ideas and emotions without words, using form, texture, and gesture as a visual language.
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Mindful Making – The tactile, physical act of shaping clay grounds students in the present moment. This slow, hands-on process supports focus, calm attention, and emotional regulation through making.
MATERIALS
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1 baseball-sized ball of air-dry clay
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2–3 toothpicks
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Basic clay tools
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Parchment paper
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Small piece of chipboard (for transport/storage)
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Damp sponge (shared)
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Towel or paper towels
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Clay cutting wire (for teachers)
FEATURED ARTIST
JOHN FLORES
John Flores is a ceramic artist based in Yucca Valley, California. His sculptures blend plant forms—especially cacti—with subtle human features such as faces, hands, and feet. Often hidden at first glance, these details invite viewers to slow down, look closely, and form a deeper, more personal connection with the work.
Flores draws inspiration from the high desert landscape, Mesoamerican imagery, and his own experiences of feeling like an outsider. He sees cacti—plants that survive and thrive in harsh environments—as symbols of resilience, adaptability, and quiet strength. By merging human and plant forms, his work explores identity, belonging, and the idea that humans are not separate from nature, but deeply connected to it.
Working in clay allows Flores to physically shape ideas with his hands, emphasizing process, patience, and experimentation. His sculptures tell stories that are both personal and universal, encouraging viewers—especially young people—to embrace individuality and recognize beauty in what makes them different.
ARTISTS TO KNOW
Frida Kahlo (1907–1954)
Frida Kahlo was a Mexican artist who used painting to tell stories about her life, her feelings, and who she was. She often painted herself and filled her artwork with symbols from nature, dreams, and Mexican culture. Frida believed art could show both the real world and the magical or emotional world inside us. Her work teaches us that our experiences, struggles, and differences are important and worth expressing through art.
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Frida Kahlo, Diego on My Mind (Self-Portrait as Tehuana), 1943, oil on masonite, 76 × 61 cm. © 2016 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican Artists (Maya & Aztec)
Long before modern times, artists in the Maya and Aztec cultures created powerful artworks that blended humans, plants, animals, and gods into single forms. These artists believed that people were deeply connected to nature and the spirit world. Sculptures and images often showed humans growing from plants or transforming into animals. Their art reminds us that creativity has always been a way to explain the world and our place within it.
Maya culture, Maize God Emerging from a Flower, 8th century, ceramic sculpture. Brooklyn Museum.
Meri Wells
Meri Wells is a ceramic artist who makes playful and imaginative clay sculptures inspired by nature, animals, and storytelling. Her figures often look like characters from a fantasy world. Wells uses humor, detail, and texture to give her sculptures personality and life. Her work encourages students to see clay as a material for creativity, curiosity, and invention.
Meri Wells, figurative ceramic sculptures, glazed ceramic. Image courtesy of the artist.
Christina Bothwell
Christina Bothwell is an artist who creates quiet, thoughtful sculptures using clay, glass, and metal. Her figures often look like gentle beings that feel part human and part animal, as if they belong to a dream or a story. Many of her artworks explore feelings like care, protection, growth, and connection. By combining different materials and soft forms, Bothwell shows how art can express emotions that are hard to put into words.
Christina Bothwell, sculptural wall piece, ceramic and glass. Image courtesy of the artist.
VOCABULARY
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Additive – Building up clay by adding pieces
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Balance – The ability for a sculpture to stand without falling
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Blend – Smoothing clay so seams disappear
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Coil – A long, rolled piece of clay shaped like a cylinder, rope, or snake
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Form – The three-dimensional shape of an object
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Foundation – A solid, thick base that supports the sculpture
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Hybrid – A combination of two different forms
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Score – Scratching clay surfaces before joining pieces
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Subtractive – Removing clay by carving
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Texture – Surface detail created by tools or hands