"...Made him King of all Wild Things"

Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are is one of the most loved picture books. It uses poetry and lavish illustration to tell the story of a young boy making peace with his animalistic side. The book reminds us all to attend to (and befriend) the more hidden aspects of our nature.

In this session, students worked in clay to create their own 'wild things.'  I chose clay as a medium as its robust physicality lends itself well to the creation of a personalised beastly creature.

We started the session with the book, taking some time to read through it and enjoy the pictures. Most students had come across the book before, but they gained a different appreciation of it through re-reading.

After reading through the book as a group, and discussing the themes of the story and the images, I introduced the artistic concept of anthropomophism. Students then considered where else they'd seen the combination of the animal and the human. We made links to the fantastical paintings of  Heironymus Bosch and the soft sculptures of  Claes Oldenburg.

Students then set to work and created their own clay Wild Things!