Of the many activities that kids pursue in holidays, clay modelling is a hot favourite for a many.
“The activity being carried out by a kid should not result in boredom. He or she must enjoy it thoroughly and making tiny sculptures using clay is a fascinating pastime for kids,” says N. Acharya, who teaches the basics of clay modeling at a summer camp.
Children can combine colourful clay sticks to make animals, insects, trees or anything they can imagine.
L. Raghunandan is a college student who has taken up a part-time job of teaching children at a few summer camps the art of creating delightful shapes with clay. “There are a few basic shape techniques. A very easy shape to start with is the long, thin cord, he says showing children how to place a piece of clay between their flat hands and their work surface and roll it back and forth to create a long, thin cord.
Form figures
“Forming a ball of clay is done in a similar fashion by rolling it in a circular motion,” he explains. For a cube, he first makes a ball and then presses it lightly to form six sides. A similar technique can be used to create a triangular prism or pyramid shape.
Taking the kids to the next level, he teaches them to make a snowman. The kids are asked to take three pieces of clay in small, medium and large sizes and form them into balls. Then he has them stack these from larger on bottom to smaller on top and decorate it using a toothpick or a similar tool to draw a face and buttons.
He creates an image of a caterpillar using five to six balls, smaller than those for the snowman and of the same size. Stringing them together and giving the ball in front a face, he waits for the young ones' reaction. Soon, the kids find themselves looking at a range of tiny figurines of a wavy, curvy snake, a snail, a rat, a duck and a bowl, an ash tray and a candle holder.
A simple house can be made by combining a cube shape with a triangular prism. Place the prism shape on top of the cube and etch windows and doors into the front of the house with a toothpick. Air-dry clays are also available in craft stores. Kids can be made to use this clay to create hardened images that last longer and serve as gifts for family members on special occasions.
