The Jolly Green Giant. Robin Hood. The Bamberg Cathedral. Tales of King Arthur. Ecology. What do they have in common? What legends and ancient myths are shrouded in the tales of the Green Man? Most often perceived as an ancient Celtic symbol as the god of spring and summer, the Green Man disappears and returns year after year, century after century. The Green Man embodies themes of death and resurrection with the cycles of the seasons. In this article, the author describes an introductory clay-modeling project with her eighth-grade ceramics students. In this project, the students create a clay relief mask that bridges the modern man with the natural world. Their assignment is to create a form that combines leaves and growing images of the human face through line, form, and texture symbolizing the concepts of renewal and regeneration. (Contains 3 online resources.)