Relief Sculpture Art

What You Need:

• Cardboard reused from an empty cereal or cracker box
• Modeling clay
• Craft sticks
• Glue
• Pencil
• Tempera paint
• Paint brush

What You Do:

1. Start by researching mythical creatures of the Middle Ages. Help your child choose one to use for this project or invent one of their own.
2. Have your child draw the basic shape of their creature on the cardboard with a pencil. Don't worry about adding too much detail since the drawing will be covered with clay.
3. Now begin building up the relief sculpture. Have your child tear off small amounts of clay and mold them into the body parts of their creature (head, body, tail, legs, etc.), then press and flatten them onto the cardboard. If the clay doesn't stick, try dabbing a small amount of glue under it. Help your learner experiment with texture and pattern by layering the clay pieces to create a three-dimensional look.
4. Carve out facial features and other details to the creature using craft sticks or clay tools.
5. Now add some color. Have your child paint their mythical beast with the tempera paint in any color palette they like; encourage them to be creative! Don't forget to paint the cardboard background, too.
6. Once your artist is done painting, set the sculpture aside to dry.