Little Walnut Man

Arts Explorer #8: Pretend Play and Magical Thinking

There are a variety of inanimate objects around my house which I could have used to personify and bring to life, but one particular object that I saw in my kitchen, came to life instantly. I have chosen to bring a walnut to life! The idea first came to me when I saw my sister breaking the walnut shell and then attempting to shoot the broken pieces at me with a rubber band. Soon enough the rubber band broke and I had decided to tie it back together. Right then and there the idea came to me of creating a headband for my walnut man! By just putting the rubber band around the walnut, it already started to look like a tiny little person. The only thing left to do was add some eyes and particular facial features. I attached two googly eyes and have drawn a small nose and a mouth made from a pipe cleaner, along with a moustache to give him a funny look. He also has feet made from pipe cleaners which help him stand up and hair which was painted on using black paint. The walnut seemed to be the perfect shape of a head, which made creating a little man that much more fun and interesting.

Mass and/or volume is an important aspect of my “walnut man” as it is a three dimensional work of art “which has height, length, and width” (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009, p. 142). This particular work of art is light weight but hard and also small, which are some characteristics of an object that has mass and/or volume (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009).   

I have decided to call my inanimate object the “little walnut man” because he is small and has no legs or arms. The headband on my walnut man makes him look like a ninja and the moustache gives him an Italian look. When all these aspects of imagination come together, the walnut man represents an “Italian ninja” who is strong (hard shell) and powerful! Having the opportunity to bring an inanimate object to life and give particular personality traits, facial features etc., helped me connect with my creative side and imagination. Implications for the future include various art activities just like this one, where a child can explore, experiment and use their imagination to create artwork that reflects their interests. Allowing children the freedom to let their thoughts run wild when taking part in art activities, is the best way for them to engage at their full potential.



Schirrmacher, R & Fox J.E. (2009). Art & Creative Development for Young Children. Delmar: Cengage Learning.