Clay Scarab Beetle Amulet pt.1
When I was in seventh grade our Social Studies curriculum was about ancient civilizations. Clearly, ancient Egypt was part of our study. I decided to dip into that rich history for this project- scarab beetles.
We started by looking at some examples of different scarabs and learning about dung beetles. They are amazing little creatures and to the ancient Egyptians they represented the cycle of life and were held sacred. I created a template based on the amulet in the middle of the photograph below. This is where we began.
Step 1:
+ Smooth your clay slab.
+ Place your template on your smooth slab.
+ Trace and cut out your scarab beetle.
Step 2:
+ Create a small oval for the body. Flatten to attach.
+ Create a round head and attach.
+ Create a sun disk and legs. Attach by scoring and slipping.
Step 3:
+ Use a small wood tool or toothpick to draw in the design of the amulet. Reference the photos for feather details on the scarab wings.
This project did take most of the hour I have this class. My little guys worked really hard. That hard work shows in the first picture of the post. Stay tuned for part 2- where we glaze! Happy making.