Pinch Pot Chia Pets

Pinch Pot Chia Pets was a lesson I had created in my high school clay classes. The inspiration behind this was the 1990s sensation of Chia Pets and the love of easy horticulture that was uniquely your own. Students were introduced to the Chia Pet brand and their merchandise, examples from previous lessons, and my examples made for their class that they could touch and view from all angles to get a better idea. Students started by making lists of animals/pets or people/characters they wanted to recreate with their own creative twists and spins. From that list, they were to choose three of their favorites or the most interesting and sketch them out to get a good visual of how they want their Chia Pet to look.

Students were given creative freedom for their design and imagery as long as it had a water basin to hold water and the “Chia Pet” portion was textured enough to allow the seeds to stick properly and draw water from the basin. Students were given demonstrations and step-by-step photos of the process while they created their work, all while I walked around and made sure everyone was helped and on the right track. Students seemed to enjoy the project and the freedom of the design and overall creativity of the project. After the pieces had been glazed and fired I made pouches of chia seeds that included instructions on how to grow them once they were finished that they could take home!