Clay Pinch Pots with Melted Marbles

I was very nervous about trying this project, as I was worried about melting glass in my kiln. I had seen several sites online that talked about melting marbles onto clay but they didn't give very detailed info on how the whole process worked. But, we gave it a go....and it worked and has become one of my favourite projects this year! I worked with two Junior ESL classes and we made simple pinch pots. After they had dried, the kids 'drew' designs on with a toothpick and glazed them (including a clear glaze over the top. They then chose three marbles (make sure you use the proper glass ones) and put them into the bottom of their pot. Finally, we crossed our fingers as they went into the kiln!! I love all the results, but I especially like the ones where just the clear rather than the coloured marbles were used.