So this week I wanted to do something a little bit different and talk about my experiences with clay, and specifically modelling clay.

I had the idea to create a 3D model of the scene using something like play dough, as a fun way to show a way that art is accessible to all ages, and can look very different from what we think art is supposed to be. However, play dough is expensive when you don’t already have multiple colours, and it dries out quickly, so I decided against it. I then thought about creating clay figures, and then painting them. However, I thought about this further and realized that this would be quite the time consuming task, and I’m trying to keep the time I commit to these recreations under two hours. This task would have taken days to do. So, I settled on Modelling Clay.

Of all the art modes I have looked at through this inquiry project so far, this is the one I have the most experience with. But do not be fooled! That does not mean that I am any good at creating 3D figures. It is in fact the opposite; I am comedically bad at it.

When I was a kid I used modelling clay to create claymation movies. It was so much fun, and for a time, really inspired me to be a filmmaker. Clearly, I chose another career path. But that goes to show you the impact modelling clay had on me as a nine year old. If time permitted, it would have been fun to revive this lost childhood passion and recreate a video of the performance this picture was taken at, but that would have taken a significant amount of time more than I have.

I also remember using modelling clay in school to create models and dioramas. The one I remember best (because I found it in my parent’s basement about a year ago) is a diorama of the scene from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe that I did for my grade 5 class, of Lucy at the lamppost meeting Mr. Tumnus. I had created the scene out of modelling clay, and a piece of cardboard. I loved the idea that creativity can and should be part of the educational process, and felt that it was such a fun way to get little Jessica to engage with the story. This, was my inspiration for the assignment here.

For my current recreation, painted a cardboard box to look like the stage, adding in the LED lighting, and the screen in the background. After that i punctured holes in the roof of the box to mimic stage lighting, and then created the modelling clay figures. The process was really fun and reminded me a lot of the projects I did when I was younger; however, it was so time consuming, so I ended up only creating two of the three models I was planning on, and kept the figures extremely simple to make sure I wasn’t spending way too much time on this. The result was very entertaining to me, and also quite funny, as the figures are in comedically bad shape.

If you had held this up to me and said, “Hey, a 7 year old made this” I would have believed you.

Once I placed the figures in the painted box, I tried to recreate the stage lighting in the image with a small blacklight and two other flashlights. I did what I could with my limited hands.

An outside view of the scene, showing the box, a s well as the flashlights I used.

That being said, it was tons of fun reliving my childhood creativity outlet here making these figures, even if I was better at “sculpting” when I was 9.

Enjoy my recreation, and perhaps have a little chuckle at my high art creation!

To find my weekly reflections on this course and my learning, look Here

To find my other inquiry posts, look Here