Mallory Waters pressed her hands against the toffee-colored clay and pushed down.

A gentle curve followed her fingers. A small bump formed in the middle of her brick-patterned slab. She was making progress on her roof.

Most of the Hands in Clay class at Bismarck State College worked on floors, roofs and chimneys for the huts they created.

"This is Brian's house," Mallory said. "There's a cat and a dog and this is Brian. This is the roof and this is inside."

She pointed out all the clay figures, including the fireplace inside. The house was made by the class instructor, art instructor Brian Hushagen.

In addition to the houses, the students make different types of clay pots, mugs, boxes and masks. It is the second year the class has been offered through the College for Kids. Twelve students are enrolled.

"It's a chance for them to work in a studio setting, like in college," Hushagen said.

He lets them call him Brian, like his college students do, and they get to listen to music in class and explore the many things they can do with clay. Hushagen himself was first introduced to clay by some college dorm mates in the early 1970s. It became a career in the mid-1980s.

The students meet for three and a half hours a day for four days.

"I always wanted to try something new," Kate Feltis said.

Her hands, and those of the other girls, were covered with a thin film of dried clay. With different tools, some that looked like rubber-ended paint brushes, they added decorative flourishes to the mugs and boxes they made.

"The fun part is decorating it, or making it,"said Spencer Kraft.

She was using a tool they called a beluga that looked like a special tongue depressor to attach the base of her mug to the side.

The last day of class is today. She expects she'll have a lot to take home, considering she made several pinch pots, she said.

Each week, Bismarck State College offers a different subject for students to explore.

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@;bismarcktribune.com.)