Today, needlework in a wide variety of techniques and manifestations is back in fashion. Everyone can afford such a hobby, and it's so nice to create beautiful things with your own hands, and literally "out of nothing." One of the original hobbies for children and adults is clay modeling. What materials will be needed for such creativity and where to start? Especially for you - a detailed master class in our article.
Going in search of clay
Pottery is one of the oldest in the world. Dishes and decorative
clay products were known to mankind at the dawn of the emergence of civilizations. Where to start acquaintance with this ancient technique? You will need the main material - clay, it is easiest to buy it in a store of goods for creativity. Some home masters also try to sculpt cosmetic powder purchased at a pharmacy. Another option is clay made by yourself. To do this, it is not necessary to go to the quarry, in many regions of Russia you can find places where the material we need lies directly under the soil layer. Caution: clay can be oily, medium and lean - depending on the amount and nature of the impurities. To check whether the selected piece is suitable for modeling is simple: just try to mash it in your hands and roll up the sausage. If the material does not stick to your hands and does not crack, you can proceed to the manufacture of crafts.
Basic rules for working with material
Today clay courses are being opened all over the country, and this is no accident. Working with this material is actually a bit more complicated than with plasticine or salt dough. First of all, clay must be diluted to a plastic consistency. If you have powder, just add water and mix. A little more complicated is the case with lump clay. In this case, the material should be filled with liquid for a while. Then we drain the water and knead the lump. If you cannot use up the whole prepared piece at a time, just put it in a plastic bag or wrap it with a wet cloth. It is believed that with prolonged storage, clay can become moldy - so try to knead it at least once a day if you plan to use the
mass for sculpting in a couple of days.
Simple crafts: where to start?
Clay modeling for beginners involves the manufacture of simple figures. Separate a piece of suitable size from the entire cooked mass. Remember it in your hands - your fingers should get used to the texture and density of the material. Next, you have to turn a piece of mass into some kind of figure. What exactly is blind? Experienced clay sculptors advise beginners to portray any images and shapes that first come to mind. And most importantly - do not be afraid: one of the advantages of the material is that you can always redo everything before finishing the product. Try to make some kind of simple animal or even a human figure.
Interesting techniques
Clay molding is an interesting type of craft that allows you to create a variety of things. So, the easiest way is to draw shapes that are complex in shape from one piece of material. But sculpting something from individual pieces of clay is a little more difficult. To fasten the parts you will need a special glue. It is very simple to make: prepare a liquid clay solution with water. Before gluing one element to another, lubricate the intended joint with the resulting slurry. The same solution can smooth out cracks that sometimes appear when the material dries. Clay modeling is a very creative process. Try to decorate your crafts with “carvings” using special tools or any improvised tools - for example, thin sticks or empty pen rods. An interesting trick is to give the clay texture with stamps, try also to roll out the layer on a piece of embossed fabric. From the selected material, you can make another type of crafts using special forms. They pour clay, diluted to a liquid state, and leave for a couple of days. After that, the figure is taken out, if necessary, smooth out all the bumps and left to dry in the air further.
Interesting ideas
Using clay, you can make casts from finished toys and souvenirs from solid materials. To make such crafts is very simple. Wrap the figure with which we will make an impression with cling film. Roll the clay with a rolling pin and gently stick around the prepared mold. Wait until the clay dries a little (no more than a day), then carefully remove it from the base. Leave the figure to dry and process further in the usual way. Clay molding (for children you can pick up a few simpler crafts) - this is not only the creation of bulk products. It is possible to do with prints. Roll out the material not too thin. Then invite the young sculptor to leave fingerprints on the surface or squeeze out the whole picture. Impressions can also be made with stamps or simply with beautiful molds, jars.
How to process the product?
Real pottery masters burn their products in special furnaces. Of course, few people find such equipment at home. But you can always burn clay at the stake. Just make sure that the fire is not too strong, otherwise your crafts can crack. Clay modeling is a fascinating activity, but it requires patience. It’s not enough to mold a figure, products must still go through several stages of processing. After the crafts have completely dried, they must be carefully sanded, smoothing out all the flaws. Then the products are fired or coated with several layers of colorless varnish. Clay sculptures can be decorated with paints. Remember that unfired products are fragile enough. After firing, the figures become more durable, but at the same time, it is still not recommended to drop them and subject them to aggressive mechanical influences.
For the first samples in pottery, you can always purchase a ready-made set for modeling clay from factory production. It contains not only all the necessary materials and tools, but also detailed instructions for making crafts and a step-by-step guide for each action.