🪧 Introduce

· Do you feel stressed? Are you often anxious about your studies, work or life?

Spending time in nature has a uniquely restorative effect on us, both cognitively and mentally.                                                                                                                                                            

——Rachel and Stephen Kaplan ‘The experience of nature: A psychological perspective’ 1989

· Why choose clay as the creative material？

Clay is one of the most common mediums in art therapy and psychotherapy.

Clay symbolizes the “source of life,” embodying the connection “human psyche ⇔ material world”.

Through clay, inner thoughts and emotions can be made concrete and visualized, helping people to clearly understand themselves and alleviate emotional distress.

Therefore, I hope this toolkit can help people understand the natural environment near their homes and how it can effectively relax the mind and body by integrating clay with natural materials. When we are engrossed in work and study, it is essential for our to take time to enjoy nature. 

📢Then let’s step into nature together and feel it！

🔑 Learning aims

1.1 Understand the texture and feel of clay.

1.2 Learn how to shape clay slabs and create surface textures.

1.3 Experiment with clay sculpting using leaves or flowers, exploring artistic expressions that blend nature and materials.

1.4 Value the natural environment around you.

🧰 Preparation Tools

Clay, leaves, flowers and pencils.

(If learners do not have porcelain clay, they can use ordinary clay or modelling clay instead.)

💡Let’s start

Figure 1. Production steps. Photograph by the author, Nov. 28, 2025.

1, Conception (8 min)

Think about what kind of environment or atmosphere you want to showcase yourself in. and select the materials you wish to use. During this process, please allow learners to fully observe and feel their own environment.

（Note: When choosing natural materials, learners should fully consider the types of plants they select and think about why they choose this plant.）

2, Shape the Clay (3 min)

Learners can shape clay into any flat form, such as circles, squares, etc. And keep the surface flat.

（If A4 paper is used, it can be torn into the shape you want.）

3, Imprint Nature (3 min)

Press the collected leaves or flowers onto the clay board to form unique natural texture patterns. Guide learners to explore the combination of natural forms and the texture of clay.

(If clay is unavailable, use A4 paper and a pencil; place the material under the A4 paper and imprint it with the pencil.)

4, Reflection (5 min)

After learners complete their works, please try to answer the following questions and post them in the comment section if you like. Of course, it can also be sent to the creator’s email s2750833@ed.ac.uk.

Why do I arrange the plants like this?

Why do I choose this plant?

What kind of environment do the plants I choose reflect？

What did I feel during this learning process？

In the first step of the collection stage, did I re-understand my surrounding environment and feel relaxed?

Do I think nature can help me relax my mood？

📖Further readings

Berger, Ronen. “Nature Therapy: Incorporating Nature into Arts Therapy.” Journal of Humanistic Psychology 60, no. 2 (2020): 244–57.

Cosentino, Peter. The Encyclopedia of Pottery Techniques: A Unique Visual Directory of Pottery Techniques, with Guidance on How to Use Them. SearchPress+ ORM, 2022.

Peterson, Susan, and Jan Peterson. The craft and art of clay: a complete potter’s handbook. Laurence King Publishing, 2003.