Children's Clay Sculpture: A Study of the Influences and Relationships with Human Figure Drawing

Overview

Objectives/Goals This project's purpose was to determine if clay sculpture can influence, or have an effect on children's human figure drawings. In addition, similarities and differences between two and three dimensional work were observed. Methods/Materials One-hundred nine students ages three to eleven years were tested. Students were asked to draw a person from head to toe from memory (Drawing #1). Then students were asked to sculpt a human figure out of clay. Students were again asked to draw a human figure (Drawing #2). Students were given no directions on how to draw or sculpt. The drawings and sculptures were scored based on the presence or absence of 13 features: head, neck, hair, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, torso, arms, fist, fingers, legs and feet. Sculptures were noted if they were upright or horizontal and overall works were studied to see if any influences occurred from clay sculpting. Overall work was examined for presence of a schema or formula in both two and three-dimensional work. Results As students progressed in age, more features were shown in both drawings and clay sculpture. The features in the clay appeared at a slower rate due to inexperience with the medium. Students progressed through developmental stages in both clay and drawing. Of the students sculptures, 83% of the students built their sculptures horizontal as a bas relief form and often were shown to "draw" with the clay. Remaining 17% of sculptures were upright. When examining drawings and sculptures, 5% of the students were influenced from the clay. Most of the influences found from clay were mainly students realizing that arms and legs were not just lines, but have a form. Overall work was examined showing that 91% of the students had a schema or their own style present in both clay and drawing. Conclusions/Discussion If students were given instructions and/or had the opportunity to sculpt from observation, more influences would be shown in their final drawing. Students would know what parts of the human figure were needed and how to sculpt them successfully. Working with a three dimensional medium such as clay should be used more often in schools and can help with motor skills and brain development.

Awards (1)

• Second Place

Competition history

• CSEF 2013 Cognitive Science (Junior Division Only) · Entry J0797

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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