Clay as a model for drawing.

This clay swan is being built by a 9th grader who is very serious about art...so serious that there have been tears when drawings have been smudged...so serious that there really is nothing else but the details. I spent so much time talking with her about building drawings from the general to the specific, about holding off on the details till the forms are in place, without much success. Then...I gave her some clay. She slowly coaxed the clay into the form she wanted, using pictures as a reference, taking such time and care. Once she was sure everything was secure, strong, and how she wanted it, then she started to draw in the feathers and other details you see above. When she didn't get it quite right she happily smoothed the marks away and started fresh. I was amazed.

Maybe it's just me, but I see this "anxiety" around details growing in teenagers and I attribute it to the computer. They want the work to just appear on the page right away, perfect, the way they see it in their head. And this got me thinking about the size of the tools I ask students to work with and the way in which I ask them to work. Maybe this seems obvious to you. Maybe it should have been obvious to me. But I am now thinking about starting my Intermediate Drawing and Painting class with big clunky paintbrushes instead of the pencils students are more "comfortable" with. I am thinking of the wonderful parallels between working with clay and drawing. Maybe even, gasp, sculpting from observation before, or along with, drawing from observation. Thoughts?