Mark Twain Elementary students use clay to tell a story

They undertook a big project creating a DVD of Claymation, but it was the small details keeping Amanda Van Spronsen, 9, and her classmates busy.

Like keeping their hands out of the way of the camera.

And moving those hands quickly enough to the clay pieces and back again without being snapped in a frame.

"If you get your hands caught in the video and it shows and people see it, I think it will be kind of embarrassing," Amanda explained. "We have a certain amount of time and we have to be very quick."

Third-graders at Mark Twain Elementary School spent the past week animating the lyrics of six Nevada-themed songs. Claymation is the same method used in large-screen animated films, like "Wallace & Gromit", said artist Darla Bayer, who was teaching the art form to the students. The Artist-In-Residence program, sponsored by the Nevada Arts Council with support from Mark Twain's parent teacher association, brings artists from the community into the schools.

"It works just like with a flip book where you flip through all the pages and the (image) moves just a little bit every time," she said.

Each student received one line from a song and rectangular blocks of colored clay to bring it to life.

For Amanda's line - "To all who dream in freedom's land" - Amanda created a young girl with blonde hair waving an American flag.

The creation was easy, but difficulties arose at camera time, when the clay was sticky or the adjustments for animation were hard. To make the flag look like it was waving over a series of frames, Amanda eventually formed a ridge in it.

"Probably, I've moved my clay pieces 10, 15 or even 20 times," she said.

The work can be painstaking.

Danita Bayer, Darla's 13-year-old home-schooled daughter, shot more than 400 stills in the course of the week.

"You just take a picture, then you take a picture, then take a picture," she said. "You don't really know how many pictures are going by."

The students caught on quickly.

"This is going really well," Danita said. "Some of the kids didn't get how it worked at first, but I think all of them understand now - even if they didn't a couple of days ago."

Next the shots will be edited and strung together to produce an animated piece for songs. Background will be the students singing. Bayer hopes to bring the DVD to the students for viewing on June 5. The DVD will also show on the Brewery Arts Center cable TV station in July.

Third-graders were chosen for the project because upper grades worked with other specialists this year.

"We wanted to provide an enrichment element to the students and we're focusing this year on writing," said Mark Twain vice principal Jessica Daniels. "You can use any forms to meet these needs, but art is one of the greatest forms. I can tell exactly what students have learned this year by watching them create."

The weeklong project meets many state standards for third-grade - cooperate and contribute ideas within a group, discuss common uses of technology in daily life and follow verbal and written instruction to complete a procedure - just a few.

But students know very little about standards, they just liked making shapes with clay.

"This is probably my favorite art project because it's the first time I've done Claymation," Payton said.

• Contact reporter Maggie O'Neill at moneill@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1219.