This project was inspired by Salvador Dali’s painting The Persistence of Memory. While I worked on these with my kids, we talked about surrealism and imagination. The info sheet on Dali is at the bottom of the post.
This project was a little bit harder than the others I’ve posted and younger kids will probably need some help. My kids had a lot of fun making them though! The clocks look so cute melting all over our shelves.
Salvador Dali The Persistence of Memory
Melting Clocks
Materials:
Air Dry Clay
Rolling Pin
Brushes
Paint
Water
Sharpie
Aluminum Foil (or something else to shape your clock on)
Instructions:
1- Roll your clay into a ball with your hands, then roll it out with your rolling pin into an oval shape that’s about 1/2” thick.
2 - You might see little cracks start forming on the edges of the clay. You can dip your fingers into water and smooth them out.
3 - Ball up some foil or find something else to drape your clay on. Form it into a fun curvy shape, then leave it in a safe spot to dry. Ours took about a full day to dry.
4 - When it’s dry, paint the entire front white. You can use other colors to shade it for more dimension if you want. I blended in some blue and grey to areas of mine.
5 - Paint a frame around the outer edge. It can be any color!
6 - Next add your clock numbers! We divided our clocks up with little marks first to make it easier. (One at the top, bottom, left, and right to divide it into quarters. Then 2 more marks within each quarter.) I painted the numbers onto my clock but my kids found it easier to use a marker. The great thing about these is that they are meant to look wonky so the numbers don’t need to look perfect. I love the sideways 8 and upside down 7 on my 5 year old’s.
7 - Next put a dot in the very center of your clock and draw or paint on 2 clock hands. You can add a little shadow next to the hands if you want.
8 - You can also add extra details to it if you feel like it. My 11 year old added a bee to hers. Then all that’s left is to find a good spot for it! I’d love to see your finished clocks. Send a picture to me on Instagram or Facebook.
