Let's Sculpt Something Together!

 My mom's the one I look up to for everything. I feel like I'm a lump of clay and she's molding me into a woman.

~Chloe Moretz

The sarcophagus post is going to be put off by a day.  Today we worked on clay figures!  Kids love to touch and mold so clay is one of the best options for an one or two hours of creative activities.  You have two options with clay, and one of them is not play-do. Play-do is a cruddy sculpture medium.  It smells funny, and when it dries out, it cracks.  It's made to be temporary.  Let's take a look at good clay. Both types are available as kits that usually include sculpture tools, and single packs of color.  I'd go with the kit.  It usually has ROY G. BIV.

Play-do cleaning tip: If your little ones gets Play-do in the carpet don't panic.  Let the Play-do dry solid, and then simply pick it, or scrape it off.

The first is regular molding clay.  This clay is superior to Play-do because it stays moist no matter how long it's out.  I'm sure it'll dry out eventually, but I haven't been able to find that cutoff.

The second is molding clay that bakes solid. This is the kind we used because my daughter can permanently keep what she makes.  This is great for future crafts like dioramas, or puppet shows.

Step One: You have to work the clay soft.  If your kids are young, you'll have to do this for them.  After working with two colors, your fingers are going to hurt.  I won't kid you.  The best thing to do is to work smaller amounts, and only the colors your child requests.  Squeeze and roll the clay until it's soft and pliable. Now it's sculpting time!

Step Two: lay down plastic, or tin foil.  If you'll notice from the picture we started with newspaper.  Bad idea.  As you roll and mold your clay, it picks up the ink from the newsprint.  Live and learn. Use the newspaper to set down tools.

Most clay kits have molding tools.  If you purchase clay without a kit, and you have no tools, you can improvise.  Pencils, plastic knives for cutting clay (only parents should use this), spoons, chop sticks, and fingers.

 
Step Three: GO!  The easiest thing for little ones are snakes.  They help them get the feel of working with clay.  You'll need to learn the snake roll anyway, as that sort of shape is important for arms, legs, the curled shells of snails, etc.  Also, make sure to roll up balls of all sizes for eyes, heads, bodies, etc...  You'll quickly get the hang of it.  If you have a little one, don't be tempted to "fix" anything they've made with the exception of making sure parts are stuck together tightly.  Be proud of what they made, even if it doesn't quite look like, uh, well, an airplane.  Make sure you make a few things on your own as well.  This is quality together time.

Step Four: BAKE!  Of course, double check that your clay is bake clay (the other clay will melt in your oven and smell bad).  Pre-heat the oven to 275 degrees.  When the oven is heated, carefully place your creations in a glass baking pan or dish. Bake for about 15 minutes (thicker pieces may require 5-10 minutes more.  Take out of oven and cool.  If any pieces fall off once the creation is completely cool you can glue the pieces back on.  You can also use acrylic paints if you want to change the color of any creation.

Here are out creations!  I made the bowl of fruit and the cupcake.  My daughter made the rest.

Happy sculpting!!