Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA)

Artist Introduction

Your Art-making Activity: Ceramic figurines 

Resource Kit Overview

Let’s get to know more before making your ceramic figurines. 

Introduction of Clay and Tools

Video Viewing and appreciation

Based on the HKMoA collection, this series, ‘In Touch with Hong Kong Artists’, provides education materials and activity sets designed with the aim to raise the interest in artists and art and culture in Hong Kong. In this resource kit, Li Wei-han, Rosanna will be introduced.

In Touch with Hong Kong Artists: Li Wei-han, Rosanna

Visual Arts

The Arts

Knives, wooden rifflers, sharp pins, wire scrapers, thread cutters, clay, slurries, water, cloths, wheel, wooden board and plastic wraps, glaze, kiln 

After kneading clay, pinch the clay to create the upper and lower body of the figurine. Add clay to shape the body.

Make the chubby body of the figurine in detail. Create a pair of arms with clay of equal size.  

Joints between the arms and the body have to be scored before attaching the arms to the body.  

Cover the joints with a thin coil of clay and smooth it.

Make a nose by pinching a tiny piece of clay.

Score the edges on the other side. Apply slip on the joints and attach the nose to the face. Make two small holes on the nose.

Pinch two tiny pieces of clay to make the ears. Score the edges to be attached. Add earholes with a modelling tool. 

Attach the ears to the face. Check if they look the same. 

Insert the needle the ears to fine-tune the ears.

Make the eyes and the mouth with the needle.

Make the hair with a comb-shaped modelling tool.

Halve the clay with a fishing wire after making the body.

Carve a circle with a needle about 1 cm beyond the edge.

Hollow-out the clay inside the circle with a wire sculpting tool.

Attach the upper body to the lower body after smoothing the walls inside the two parts.

Connect the upper part of the body to the lower part. 

Smooth the joint area and roll out a thin coil of clay.

Fill up the gap and strengthen the joint with a thin coil of clay.

Fine-tune the figurine carefully with modelling tools.

Biscuit-fire the figurine in a kiln at 900 – 1000 degree Celsius.

Glaze-fire the figurine in a kiln at 1200 to 1300 degrees Celsius.

Resource Kits

Object Library

Museums

In Touch with Hong Kong Artists: Li Wei-han, Rosanna

Your Art-making Activity: Ceramic figurines

Background Knowledge

Materials and tools