My first attempt at art toy design had begun when we received 5 blank wooden figurines from art toy enthusiast professor Benjamin Light.
He showed us his variations of these figurines.
Initial ideas on what can be done with the figurines included a big happy family of body-positive kinky statues.
Pretty basic human idea, as ancient as these 23,000-year-old figurines.
The motivation
Art toys are not necessarily kids toys. They’re meant to be collected and admired, not played with. However, when I showed the blank figurines to my 2 year old kid it was clear these are meant for him. Some people hide toys away from their kids. Not me. I’m the kind of person who’ll let the kid enjoy the material piece of entertainment in the brief few moments before losing or breaking it.
The little boy who’s not too obsessed with consumer brands STILL enjoyed the simplicity of the raw wooden figurines and found many ways of playing with them. So I kept him involved in the design process and tried making the outcome interesting and valuable for him.
Color
With the advice of my kid, I painted the figurines in 5 different bright colors. I used watercolors, the least toxic of all. The cover wasn’t perfectly opaque as the paint was absorbed within the wood. It was okay since it helped maintain the wooden tactility that my kid enjoyed.
Shape
Since the shape was playful as is, and since I’m an absolute beginner in woodworking anyway, I kept the figurine alterations to the minimum.
I Used a drill to make holes for additional body parts. Used a saw to chop a little piece of head from one of the guys. Used filing paper to get rid of splinters and soften the scruffy texture.
Annnnd… here they are! A happy creative ecologically aware little crew. Meet…
Mx. Woodhead
Inspired by the mechanic of Mr Potato Head, but gender neutral and immensely more hippy!
The wooden natural feel is embraced in a game mechanic of collecting body parts for the figurines from nature
Reusable in endless variations
Aimed to encourage a healthy fascination with nature and its beauty
Might help develop a sense of style and creativity starting at very young ages
