The Development of a Child--as seen in Clay

The original assignment was "even growth in all directions"--with clay.

Because clay does not 'grow' or expand on its own, we started with a small lump of clay, about the size of a grape, and added to it piece by piece. In my mind I thought 'okay, even growth in all directions--sphere. Great, we are modelling spheres."

However, our teacher intentionally did not tell us to make a 'sphere'. Instead he told us to try and keep the whole creation in view, not just concentrating on one side or spot. Our key question was 'where is something missing?' Then we would add a bit of clay there.

After a class or two in the Waldorf Seminar, our teacher acknowledged that the form was ideally an expanding sphere, because that would be even growth in all directions. However, we were to look at our growing sphere as a growing child. The idea is not to just take a lump of clay and roll it around, rather to experience the 'growth' process. A child actually grows and develops unevenly, but we still aim for even growth. The idea is not to focus on the goal but rather on the process.

The sphere kept growing and eventually we couldn't hold it in our hands anymore, we had to set it down and let it continue to grow there. It was then harder to keep everything in view. It grew and grew ("until my ceiling hung with vines"....just had a "Where the Wild Things Are" moment...) until it had a diameter of..15 inches perhaps?

Then when we had reached a large point, the goal changed from looking for where things were missing to where there was too much--we weren't supposed to take anything away, but the idea was then to lightly push down at the mounds and help smooth them into the concave places. The sphere was to become smooth.

And then the great betrayal came...

Our teacher told us the sphere would begin to grow taller in a certain direction--not exactly along the central axis, but in some roughly vertical direction. I was crushed! Leave my beautiful sphere? But she was just so--beautiful and even and--and happy as a sphere! Why did I have to push her up into higher levels?

But I was obedient and with gentle prodding with my thumbs and fingers, sometimes knuckles, the mass began to travel upwards. And the development of the child continued.

The child, after having grown in one direction, grew in 2, then 3, then 4 and 5.

We were supposed to continue the growth in 5 directions and try to create balance and harmony between the protrusions and the negative space between them.

I wanted to add a 6th bump/arm, and my teacher said 'When a 6th then also a 7th --needs to be an uneven number.' Okay. So then my creation had 7 protrusions.

 

After it was fairly harmonious between positive and negative space (although, in my case, leaning quite to one side--only barely on this side of overbalancing), then came the adolescent phase. Harmony was abandoned and flat planes were cut into the bumps. The planes were to crash into each other at sharp angles--like the slamming of a door. These sharp angles represented the vehement opinions of the teenager--today the bedroom should be blue, tomorrow I want it red!

It was a fascinating phase. I reflected that my teenage...-hood had never been quite so vehement, but I enjoyed the phase despite that. I found it strangely gratifying to have the planes crash into each other. At the beginning I wanted to leave the planes separate, as though a piece had been cut off of each of the protrusions, but remained separate. However with encouragement I continued to extend and deepen the planes or create a more extreme angle and it was rather exciting!

After the corners and sharp edges of adolescence had been explored, we were then to move into the post-adolescent phase. In which harmony returns but individual personality becomes more and more apparent. For me, one could say I am in this phase. For many of the other Seminar Students, they have been in this individuating phase for quite some time. :)

As inspiration for this phase we looked to the Moebius Strip, how that which is inside becomes outside and vice versa. The planes became concave, but then sometimes convex--every inch was reworked. From the crashing and angled surfaces, it was transformed into harmonious but still dynamic slopes and curves.

And of course the process could go on, the transformations could continue. The child grows up but never stops changing. It was fascinating to consider the process I went through and am going through, as well as the process that the children I will be teaching will go through..

...and then, at some point..ideally later rather than sooner, our bodies return to the earth...that already happened with my creation. It has been returned to the clay bin to guide future seminar students in their clay discoveries. But my development :) goes on and I'm excited to continue my hands-on learning at the Waldorf Seminar!