# Clay Art on Canvas
> Kids pinch, roll and cut soft modelling clay into flowers, bees, butterflies and little people for a spring garden scene. An adult then hot-glues the pieces onto a canvas so the artwork can be framed and kept.
- URL: https://www.funlittles.com/art-projects-clay-art-on-canvas/
- Ages: 3–6 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: low
- Time: prep 10 min, activity 45 min
- Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class · one batch serves about 1 kids
- Skills: fine-motor, creativity, shapes, seasons

## Materials (one batch)
- Modelling clay, non-drying, in assorted colors
- 1 piece Canvas, 11x14
- 1 piece Glue gun
- Hot glue sticks
- Small cookie cutters or shape cutters (optional)
- 1 piece Small rolling pin (optional)
- 1 piece Plastic mat or table cover (optional) (household)
- 1 piece Frame for the canvas (optional)

## Substitutions
- Instead of modelling clay: Model Magic (Recommended by the author. It costs a bit more than clay, but use it if you have some on hand.)
- Instead of modelling clay: Homemade cornstarch clay (The author links her homemade cornstarch clay recipe (/homemade-cornstarch-clay/) as a make-your-own option. It contains cornstarch.)

## Safety
- Adult only: the glue gun and hot glue can burn. Keep it out of kids' reach and let the glue cool before kids touch the canvas.
- Modelling clay is not food. Supervise so kids don't put it in their mouths.
- Small clay pieces can be a choking hazard for young children. Supervise closely.

## Steps
1. Cover the table and set up a crafting station with small amounts of each clay color, the cutters and a rolling pin.
2. Pinch small balls of clay, then roll and squish them into petals, leaves and stems.
3. Use the small shape cutters to cut stars, flowers and other shapes.
4. Build a garden scene with flowers, a sun, clouds, bees and butterflies.
5. Make little people figurines who love to play outside in the garden.
6. Lay the pieces out on an 11x14 canvas to plan the picture.
7. Adult: hot-glue each clay piece onto the canvas.
8. Frame the finished canvas and hang it where your child can see it.

## Tips
- When working with clay, use small amounts and work in batches. This helps keep the clay from drying up and saves you money.
- Clay is tougher than play dough, so rolling it into shapes is a good workout for those motor skills.
- Play dough figurines never last, so we turned to modelling clay. It holds its shape very well and is soft and pliable.
- Talk about what you see in spring and summer as you craft. The birds and the bees are spring's first visitors, so we put them into our craft.
- The look on her face when I framed and hung it was priceless: she was brimming with joy and pride, and it gave her confidence a big boost.

## The original post by TurkeyMom (2013)

My daughter loves playing with any modeling compound. We have many art and craft projects using modelling compounds. [**Play dough**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/play-doh/) is her most favorite. The only problem I've had is we can never save the little figurines the hands craft. So I turned to Modelling Clay. Modelling Clay holds its shape very well and it is soft and pliable and it was the perfect choice to create and cherish the memories of the first crafting days. I would also recommend Model Magic for something like this. It's definitely a bit more expensive than clay but if you have some on hand sure enough go for it. What we used:

- Modelling Clay
- Canvas
- Glue gun
- Small cookie cutters(optional)

So, yes, I took the easy route and bought clay. If you want to try making your own clay, here's a *[recipe](https://www.funlittles.com/homemade-cornstarch-clay/)* that we use. I must add that the clay we bought was non drying clay, means it will always have wetness to it. It is more pliable and easy to work with. It is different from the other pottery clay or air dry clay. Now, back to our project, we set up a crafting station. When working with clay I highly recommend that you use small amounts and work in batches. This helps to keep the clay from drying up and saving you money.  Clay is tougher than play dough so rolling it to make shapes is a good workout on the motor skills. That said we used some fine motor skills to pinch balls of clay and roll it and squish it to make petals and leaves.  We made butterflies and clouds and sun and flowers. We used the small shape cutters to create our beautiful garden scene. The play also involved a lot of discussions as to what you see in Spring & Summer. The kids know spring is in the air when they don't need to wear those hefty jackets and layers and layers of clothing. The birds and the bees are springs first visitors and we decided to incorporate them into our craft.  Needless to say that spring and Summer bring a lot out outdoor play time and outdoor fun. So she made two figurines, Big S & Lil' S who love to play outside in our garden with all the spring/summer blooms.  So when does this craft meet the art? Once we finished making our flowers, bees and little people it was too cute to just sit and after days get crumbled. I picked out a 11x14 canvas and turned this into an Art piece, one that my daughter can always look at and enjoy her work. So i picked up my glue gun and all the clay crafting and started to glue and put the pieces together.  Look at these pretty flowers we crafted from clay.  Simple isn't it? The look on her face when I put it in a frame hung it; She was brimming with joy and pride, not to mention the big boost in her confidence, looking at her own masterpiece - PRICELESS.  We have done many Art projects here in the past and we are adding one more to our favorite collection. Hope you like it and be sure to give it a try.

Thanks for reading

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