Clay Modelling & Sculpture Workshop at Arena Animation - SAIT

The past week was vibrant at Arena Animation-SAIT campus as learners were enrolled in a three-day clay modeling and sculpture workshop. It was all done under the watch of Mrs. Kamakshi Paliwal and everyone learned new skills and came out with some wonderful pieces of art.
 
The introductory part of the workshop was held by Mrs. Paliwal who explained how to work with clay. She demonstrated the way of softening the clay by kneading it which is very crucial to make the material suitable for shaping by students. I feel that students benefited from this learning activity and were able to cope with using the clay without much difficulty. They began with relatively simple forms of balls, coils, and slabs. Such shapes served as the initial foundation for further elaboration. Many jokes and games were held during the first modeling when students shaped the small animals, the bowls, and even faces.

Days later students became familiar with how to give shapes and add details to the sculpture. The tools used by Mrs. Paliwal varied from carving knives to loop tools to simple household products such as toothpicks and forks. These tools assisted students in the process of incorporating additional details to their products. Each child realized the significance of the word ‘’patience’’ when dealing with clay. Proceeding to work with their sculptures, the students practiced the manipulation and succeeded in making them more detailed and impressive with a proper and cautious approach. It was a dedicated energy with focused ideas as students materialized their thoughts in the room.

On the last day, students learned the final stages of the sculpture – how to finish your sculpture. They learnt how to smoothen surfaces and remove any rough edges that their pieces may have in order to make them seem finished or complete by what Mrs. Paliwal called refinement. Some students dared to paint their sculptures introducing an extra splash of colors. A mini-exhibition was also done to give them a sense of accomplishment as everyone showcased what they had crafted. Such diversity and fantasy could be seen in wonderful vases, created fantastic creatures, and depicted characters in exquisite detail. All were puffed with pride at their creations.

The modeling and sculpture clay workshop was a great success. The students not only acquired new methods of doing things but also had a lot of fun while using their hands to create. The contribution of Mrs. Kamakshi Paliwal in making the workshop a success was very helpful and made the whole event a success for all of us. This event demonstrated what a vibrant community with creativity and talent exists today at Arena Animation - SAIT. Students are already excited to see the same type of workshops again in the future to increase their artistic abilities.