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A ‘mammoth task’ of art made easy for kids

— Photo: T. Singaravelou

FOR LITTLE ONES: Terracotta mastercraftsman Munusamy teaches children to make clay models at a workshop in Puducherry on Sunday.

PUDUCHERRY: Sketching an elephant is very difficult, at least for people, who are not good at drawing. Imagine how difficult it would be to make elephants using clay!

Well, children of government and private schools learnt an easy-make-your-own elephant method from master craftsman V. K. Munusamy on Sunday. The way the terracotta expert taught the children, most of the 110 were able to make something that resembled a pachyderm.

Here is the method for those of you who would like to try it at home: Make a round ball, which would be the body of the elephant. Then make another ball that is one-third the size of the first ball and then make five rounds that are one-fourth the size for the legs and the trunk.

For the two ears split into two a ball the size of the ones made for the legs. Then shape the legs and the trunk. You can make eyes, tusks and tail according to the size of the big clay ball. An ice-cream stick and a pen are the tools for making an elephant. You need the stick to draw the lines on the elephant’s body.

The workshop, which was inaugurated by MLA R. Siva, was organised by Art Kala Academy, was conducted at Vennila Nagar Government Primary School.

Initially there was a lot of squishy-squashy stuff going on but then they got the hang of it. In just a span of four hours, the children were taught 8 different kinds of dolls.

They made the tsunami Ganesh, which could be made in just 5 minutes, another Ganesh, a horse, a human face, a rose flower, a pen-holder and in addition, a lamp.

When Mr. Munusamy equated the human face to a mango, it evinced a loud round of laughter from the children. “Many people are called manga madayan, which is actually apt in all human faces because the human face is like a mango – sharp at the bottom and round at the top. You have to make a round and then shape the bottom in a sharp manner. Measure it into three parts and the top portion must be pressed down to make the forehead. Stick small pieces of clay for the nose and eyes and draw the mouth,” he explained rather very simply.

At the end of the workshop, participating children were all sent with lumps of clay to make more dolls at home.

“We need to pass on some kind of art form to children so that it would help kindle their creativity.

“We need to include clay making in the school curriculum because it helps bring out their creativity and make their fingers and hands very flexible,” said Mr. Munusamy.

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