How well do you know your oogly?

Myrna Minnis has been teaching children the art of her magical clay creature known affectionately as “oogly” for over twenty years. In Myrna’s workshops, children learn to create a basic oogly, then Myrna gives them free reign to embellish and customize to their heart’s content. Under her tutelage, literally thousands of ooglys have been created, each unique to its young artist.

Early on, Myrna saw just what a powerful communication tool the oogly can be. The curious, undefined creature, created in the tactile medium of clay, gave children a new voice to use. With oogly, children could create art which expressed their ideas and feelings that they could not put into words.

oogly' therapeutic benefits are immediately apparent when a child makes their first creation. Kids of all ages love it. Special needs children, such as those with autism, become more expressive. A frustrated child can pound and work with the clay, experiencing a calming effect that gives way to creating an oogly sculpture. Shy children unleash, becoming expressive and uninhibited.

Myrna wanted children to take this magic home, so she began selling oogly kits with a unique non-drying clay and tools that help kids create oogly’s distinctive features. But oogly is much more than just a clay kit – oogly is a valuable concept. She needed to find a way to communicate this concept to the new oogly owners.

So Myrna went to work on a vibrant, idea-filled booklet to help unlock the imaginations of children so they can experience the oogly to its fullest potential at home. oogly emerges as a friend, a playmate, and a confidant. oogly is full of ideas, ready for adventure, and can be whatever the child wants oogly to be.

After reading the oogly booklet, parents and children alike understand how to tap in to oogly’s magic. The booklet was designed with a broad age range in mind. Children of any age will be creatively inspired. Younger children will ask to read the booklet again and again.

Parents will love the oogly art their kids create, and they’ll be amazed at what they can learn about their own children through oogly.

(If you already have an oogly kit and would like to find out how to get your own copy of the new oogly booklet, email Myrna at mminnis2@kc.rr.com)

This oogly's A Little Square

Looking for a little variety in your oogly making? Why not experiment with a block instead of a bowl to start your oogly off a little differently? I decided to use squares as the theme for my oogly project today.

I started by making the pinch pot into a box instead of a bowl and it all flowed from there. Squares for eyes and one for my oogly’s nose.

I thought he needed a little flare to set him off so I blended in flattened coils of clay to each leg to out some swing in his step.

His fingers and toes are blocky too – I split the clay to make the fingers and I did the same on the feet to give the oogly toes. I added an extra piece of clay to the feet to make more substantial feet to keep my oogly grounded.

What other shapes make good ooglys? What have you tried?

oogly Birthday Party

This weekend, a fun group of girls came to celebrate a birthday by making ooglys in my studio. 

We had a great time exploring all the different ways to add fun features to ooglys like big eyes, teeth and all sorts of accessories. Here are photos of some of the clever and creative ideas the girls had throughout the party.  Maybe you’ll be inspired!

A huge mouth with a wide grin makes this oogly look mighty happy. No doubt the cute coordinated outfit with matching shoes is something to smile about.

This oogly has quite the headdress to top off a face full of eyes. Fanciful for sure.

And if you like clever accessories – how about the shoes on this oogly? Even the soles have soul.

Flip flops were a popular shoe style despite the chill outside. Could the cold be what’s making this oogly’s hair stand on end?

Check out more photos of unique ooglys from the birthday party on oogly's page on Facebook. 

Family Fun Together with ooglys

For those of you who are playing with an oogly kit or oogly clay for the first time this week, we’ve got some fun ideas for how you can make a family event of creating ooglys together. Click on the links for the full post about each activity.

Our first Family Fun Series post gives you eight ideas of things to do together to make a game of making ooglys. You can make ooglys based on movies, books or some other pastime your family enjoys together. You can figure out the best ways for ooglys to fly. You can even have the whole family work on an oogly together. Check out all the ideas here.

Ooglys are also a great way to start a conversation. Your family can make ooglys together and then tell a story about each oogly or you write poems or short stories about your oogly’s adventures. Check out this post for more ideas about getting the dialogue going with ooglys.

And let us know what fun things you've done with your family when you make ooglys together.

Make your oogly elf jolly and bright!

Looking for a way to make your oogly elf sparkle? Send us a photo of your most festive oogly elf and we’ll enter you to win an oogly enhancer kit – the perfect addition to your oogly fun.

Oogly elves are easy to make and even easier to make merry with a few beads, sparkles and feathers. Check out the bling we added to this oogly elf – he’s ready to lead the Holiday Parade!

Follow the simple directions in our oogly elf blog and send us a photo of your creation. We’ll be giving an enhancer kit to the most festive elf each week – Dec. 7^th, 14^th and 21^st. Send photos to info@ooglykit.com. It’s a great activity for the kids while you’re finishing your holiday preparations. 

ooglys at Thanksgiving

Making ooglys together with family is a great way to spend time being creative together at the holidays. Over Thanksgiving, we did just that making ooglys at our family celebration. 

You can see that making ooglys was an activity everyone enjoyed. No surprise – every oogly was different and every oogly was special. 

The kids made two ooglys each in the time it took the adults to make one.

It was probably the detail work that added the extra time to this oogly. How festive!

A 4-user oogly kit makes the perfect family gift and gives everyone a fun activity for holiday gatherings. 

Just look at all the fun you can have.

Making an oogly elf

Add holiday cheer to your oogly this year.  We’re looking for the most creative, funny and fabulous oogly elves to add to our holiday crew. Here are directions to make your oogly elf.

Send us a photo and we'll add it to our website, www.theooglykit.com. Send photos to info@ooglykit.com.

Materials:

Clay (any non-hardening modeling or sculpting clay will work)

Hair-raiser (garlic press or strainer will work)

Pencil

1. Make an oogly following the basic steps. If you haven’t made an oogly before, watch our short video for directions. Then follow the rest of these directions to “elf” your oogly.

2. To “elf” your oogly, start with elf ears. Roll two small balls and flatten then into pointy ears and attach to each side of your oogly’s head.

3. Another important elf feature is pointy boots so when you make the legs of your oogly, be sure to turn the feet up and press the toes into points. 

4. Your oogly elf needs the right outfit to show off its holiday cheer. Add festive trim at the ankles and wrists of your oogly by rolling small coils of clay. Flatten them and use your pencil to press detail into each piece. Wrap one piece of trim around each leg and arm of your oogly elf and blend the clay together for a seamless outfit.

5. The finishing touch for your oogly is an elf hat. Roll out a flat piece of clay and form it into a cone that will fit on your oogly elf’s head. Add trim just like you did for the arms and legs of your oogly elf’s outfit.

We added some enhancers to our oogly like beads and pipe cleaners for color. You can use sequins, feathers, beads and jewels to dress up your oogly elf. 

Send us a photo and we'll add it to our website, www.theooglykit.com.

Please send photos of your oogly elf to info@ooglykit.com and keep an eye out for oogly elves spreading holiday cheer on our blog and Facebook all season long.

Fun with oogly at Paxton Elementary

One of the best things about making ooglys is that each one is as different as the person who made it. No two ooglys are alike. The process of making an oogly is all about being creative with clay. Just like the 5th graders at Paxton Elementary last week.

This oogly went long – long hair, long limbs and even long eyes.

And this oogly didn’t get any arms but man, oh man, has he got the teeth going on in that enormous mouth of his.

This oogly’s mouth is a little smaller but the teeth take it to another level. I dare say, you could call those pointy daggers fangs. Of course, her eyelashes are pretty pointy too so maybe she’s just feeling sharp.

Then we had a few that only needed one eye to get a good view of things.

This oogly looks like he may have seen too much – even with just a single eye.

Of course – it could be that he just caught a peek at this oogly.

What a tail! I bet there’s a story behind that one.

A Poem About Creativity and Clay

Even though most of this blog is focused on kids, I thought you would enjoy hearing about the experience of one of my adult students who has been creating a Fairy House like the ones featured in this project in Rhythm of the Home. Kathy and I met at Turning Point where she participated in an oogly workshop. This is her poem about exploring clay in the studio with me.

Kathy at the oogly workshop at Turning Point

 Magic At Myrna’s

At Myrna’s, the magic takes place

   In the basement

10 feet under the ground

Large grins, hairy chins, bulbous noses

   In rows on shelves

That line the walls

Inspiration, fun mystery – what’s that

   In the back of that shelf?

My eyes must take a peak.

My mind is a twirl, gazing first

   Here then there.

Trolls, witches, monsters a plenty all stare.

After a session at Myrna’s with clay, water and air

   In my naptime dreams, creatures appear

They mount an uprising as they storm the stairs.

Yes, there’s magic at Myrna’s, stirred to life

   By a red-haired pixy inviting play and creation.

The dungeon mistress of FUN.

ooglys from Stillwell Elementary

At Stillwell Elementary, the students added lots of imagination to their ooglys. In fact this oogly got an extra oogly friend to keep her company. 

  This oogly got some horns to go with his long, long nose and his tall, tall eye.

This fellow looks a little more mellow with eyes perched widely on the tips of his head.

This last oogly from Stillwell Elementary has a bit of everything going on. His eyes are scoping out his surroundings. He’s got horns and a nice long spiny ridge for protection and giant teeth to handle anything that comes his way.

The young Stillwell artists certainly mixed in all sorts of fanciful features to make magical ooglys.

oogly at Synergy Youth Resiliency Center

I had the pleasure of leading an oogly workshop at Synergy Services Youth Resiliency Center this weekend in Kansas City. What a wonderful organization doing creative outreach for kids. Synergy Services began as a shelter for homeless and runaway children and now provides those services plus support for young children and women who have been victims of abuse.

In addition to providing safe housing for young people in crisis they also provide medical, dental and mental health services to teens. But that’s not all – Synergy Services also recognize the role the arts and creativity as an important support piece for the children and young adults they serve.

Through a partnership with Kansas City YoungAudiences, they provide workshops and classes for young people to explore self-expression and development through the arts. On Saturday, a group joined me to make ooglys and just be creative. 

As you can see, despite the challenges these kids are encountering, their creativity found an outlet in oogly. Thanks to everyone who made the workshop possible at Synergy Services.

Art After School

Last week we celebrated National Arts in Education Week and shared lots of great lesson plans with ways to incorporate art in the classroom. This week, we wanted to share a little bit of our opinion about art after school.

Parents have often asked me how they can help their kids unwind with art after school. So many kids have such stressful days in the classroom that they need to relax and transition into a different pace when they get home. Although it may be the remedy of choice, I don’t believe television is the answer – for kids or for parents. I prefer that kids pick up a piece of paper for drawing, some blocks for building or even better – some clay!

One parent shared with me her method for helping her daughter loosen up after a long day at school. She had oogly clay and her daughter knows the process of making an oogly and she lets her go for some quiet, creative time making ooglys. 

Not only it is a great activity for an eight-year-old, it’s also great for Mom because the play time is self-directed. Mom doesn’t need to intervene or instruct. Everyone can just find their space and tap their imagination for a change of pace.

Here’s one example of an after school “oogly” session. Looks like fun to me!