1. Pinch Pot Clay Critters
2nd Grade

2. Do you recognize these characters?
Where did they
come from?

3. An idea!
• Every work of art starts as
someone’s idea
• The Muppets were
Jim Henson’s idea
“I came to puppetry more
through the art side of it.
Usually I would start with
drawings and then turn them
into puppets.”
—Jim Henson
Pepe
the prawn

4. Jim Henson
• His grandma taught him how to sew
• He taught himself how to make puppets using books
from the library
• Jim got his first job as a puppeteer on a TV show when
he was only 18
• He got ideas from other TV shows, Disney movies, and
commercials
• He used his puppet-making skills for adult TV shows
and commercials before working on Sesame Street
and other kids’ shows

5. Muppet Ideas:
• Jim Henson used different ideas
to make each muppet character
individual
• Some characters are based on
animals, monsters, made-up
creatures, and even humans!

6. Who did these
sketches
become?
Bert & Ernie!

7. Muppets based on ANIMALS
Barkley
Kermit
Sprocket
Rowlf
Big Bird
Captain Vegetable

8. Muppets based on MONSTERS
Cookie Monster, Grover, Maurice,
Telly, and Harry Monster
Elmo
Sweetums

9. MADE-UP Creature Muppets
Animal
Gonzo
Snuffy
Martians
Fraggles
Mahna Mahna
& Snowths

10. Muppets based on HUMANS
Statler & Waldorf
Dr. Bunsen Honeydew & Beaker
Jim Henson!
Bert & Ernie
Scooter
Salvador Dada
Guy Smiley

11. We will be making
our own clay critter
inspired by the
Muppets!

12. We will make a PINCH
POT body.

13. Then we will attach all of the features
and details to the body.
Remember to SCORE, SLIP,
SMOOSH and SMOOTH!!

16. What will YOU create??