clay sculpture

Activity: Clay Sculpture

Target participant group: Children have the hardest time expressing themselves so the best way to do that is through art.

Therapeutic potential of this activity: This activity helps the child express their feelings and identify them while also increasing their self awareness.

What other groups may benefit from this activity?: Someone with a social disability may express themselves better though art, but may not fully be able to explain exactly what they made and why they made it. It may have to be up to the instructor to figure it out through what they know.

What groups may not be as appropriate for this activity?: Who may not work best with this activity may be older participants. Fine motor skills are going to be needed to fully develop the structure to the greatest ability, and someone may not have that ability, but it would work on their motor skills.

Activity description: Have the child build a sculpture that describes who they are, what they like, or what they want you to know about them. It could be realistic or abstract. Once complete, have the child answer the questions while you write down the answers in a poetic format. Ask these questions…

1.       What do you want to call this (title)?

2.       What feeling each color represents.

3.       What would you say to its/his/her relative, friend, or anyone in its life.

4.       What is the sculptures favorite food?

5.       What/who does it like and not like? Why?

6.       What does it want the world to know about it?

If any other questions come to mind feel free to ask them.  Get creative about how you wrote the poem, and then let the child know they had written a poem. Read it back to them and watch how excited they will be and allow the child to keep the sculpture.

Resources needed: To allow this activity to work properly, you will need colored clay or playdough, paper, and a pen or pencil to write with.

Best leadership style for this activity: The best way for this to work, is to do it one on one with the participant, and also to make a sculpture alone with the child so all the attention isn’t focused on them.

Where did you find this activity?: I found this activity online at http://www.lianalowenstein.com/e-booklet.pdf.

Where can others find more information on this activity? To find more information on this activity I would look closer at the website given, or I’m sure you can ask other people around you what kind of questions you could ask the participant.