Model Magic
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Posted by Mary Welling-Bonney Jul 30, 2007 |
If you have, I'd really like to hear from you. I have been very impressed with it. I teach classes and occasionally include art projects with the instruction. I have found, especially for a large group this is a practical, cost effective way to have fun and emphasize a lesson. I know from my e-mails that many of our readers are art teachers. If you haven't tried this you should.
Model Magic has a very different consistency than we are used to. It is soft and airy. It works very much like the traditional play dough but the consistency takes a little getting used to. In a classroom setting it works out great that the clay air-dries. I just turn the projects to aid the drying process but after about 48 hours depending on the thickness of the object, it is completely dry.
When I teach a lesson, I like to leave students with a visual reminder at home of the lesson. I find magnets are a quick, fun way to achieve this. With traditional dough, I had to take everything home to bake and then find magnets that were strong enough to hold the weight.
When this clay is active, I mentioned it is light and airy. It remains light and airy after it dries. It holds easily with inexpensive magnets.
It comes in all of the primary colors but I like to paint the surface in conjunction to our lesson. The surface takes to acrylic paint very well and seems to hold up over time with out chipping or peeling.
I use it at home for the kids and find it funny that every time I pull it out for the kids all of the adults join in. Just this last Easter we had a number of surprise guests from out of town with children show up at our door. Everyone sat at the table for hours talking and modeling clay.
The only down side is unlike traditional clay where you can reuse the clay later if stored correctly. I find once this clay is open, it needs to be used at that sitting and doesn't store well.
Still, all in all it is a really fun medium with loads of possibilities. Crayola never lets us down.