Ordinary plasticine is intended for repeated modeling, therefore figures from it are short-lived by their nature, easily deformed not only under mechanical stress, but also under conditions of average summer temperatures. Nevertheless, sometimes kids show such vivid examples of talent that they want to keep the cobbled figure for a long time. It could even be put on public display, but again - it will not even survive the usual Russian summer.
Today, unsolvable problems practically do not exist, so we will consider two separate special types of hardening plasticine, and also figure out how to improve the durability of figures from the most ordinary mass.
About material
Actually, the simplest solution to the problem is to buy a special mass for the child in advance, which is designed to store the finished results. The peculiarity of such plasticine is the ability to freeze from simple contact with air, since it very quickly gives off moisture. To avoid premature hardening drying clay is stored in special sealed jars, after extraction from which it looks the same as an ordinary one.
You need to sculpt from it quickly, because in a day it will lose any resemblance to its classic counterpart, finally solidifying.
However, this solution creates many problems:
- Firstly, plasticine, which freezes in the air, needs to be bought in advance, that is, you will not save a ready-made figurine made of simple material.
- Secondly, working with it assumes not a possible, but a guaranteed excellent result, because you may no longer have time to fix a failed product.
- Thirdly, this is actually a self-hardening sculptural material that does not allow repeated use - it is difficult to learn from it, because then too much raw material will be needed, and all unsuccessful attempts can only be thrown away.
Material for sculptures
This material has a lot of names - sculptural plasticine, art plasticine, polymer clay, or even just plastic. Some were lucky to work with this even in school labor lessons, but real sculptors also learn and hone their skills on it. Unlike any other types of plasticine, polymer clay is almost never sold in sets - only in separate bars of different colors, since the original purpose is precisely the classical type of sculpture.
Of course, polymer clay also needs to be bought in advance, and the hardened piece cannot be reused, but there is one important "but": now the owner himself determines when the shape will be fixed.
The fact is that fixing here is caused, on the contrary, by high temperature - the resulting figure must be boiled in water or kept in the oven, depending on the type of base. This is a prerequisite for achieving hardness, so plasticine, which hardens when heated, can be used an infinite number of times until you cook it. Without this important step, you can use it in the same way as the most ordinary sculpting mass.
How to turn ordinary into hardening?
There are a couple of ways to make ordinary plasticine acquire a new, completely atypical hardness. True, here it is necessary to make a clarification - it will be more solid initially, that is, it will become more difficult to mold from it.
The most effective method is simple improvement of the chemical composition of plasticine. Clay is often the main raw material for the production of this material, but it sometimes does not stick together very well, or it kneads too badly for repeated use. Manufacturers have to add binders to it to make modeling easier and plasticizers to increase softness and elasticity. Our task is to reduce the amount of such plasticizers in the composition.
This is done quite simply:
- Cut or break ordinary plasticine into small strips, and place in a bowl of water - so that contact with the liquid is carried out over the maximum area.
- Heat the vessel in any way to such an extent that the clay completely melts, then stir the resulting mixture thoroughly.
- In the process of cooling, the plasticine will begin to harden again, but the plasticizers, which are fats, will at least partially be washed out with water. Collect the hardening plasticine and carefully squeeze it out of the mixture of water and fats, and then place in the freezer to completely remove the water.
- Pour out the remaining mixture of water and plasticizer. Depending on how pronounced the effect you need, the procedure can be repeated several times.
- There is another unusual way to increase the stability of the future product. To do this, ordinary plasticine must first be mixed with finely chopped pieces of material that does not change its properties under the influence of a typical room temperature.
Copper wire is most often recommended as such an additive. However, you don't need to cut it if you can make a full-fledged frame out of it that supports the too heavy sculpture.
How to protect a finished figurine from ordinary plasticine?
If the child unexpectedly surprised everyone and created something really worthwhile, but no one guessed in advance to buy him a special mixture for modeling, you will have to resort to other protection methods:
- Experts recommend covering the finished sculpture with a protective layer of nail polish or hairspray. Naturally, this is not a panacea, but at least partially, such a solution will help protect the product from the negative effects of high temperatures. True, this method is usually used only for small details, such as tree leaves, grass or hair, because a thin layer of varnish will not be able to withstand a large figure that has already melted inside.
- Actually, just as the heat drowns the plasticine, so the cold makes it harder. A refrigerator will help to save a small masterpiece - if you regularly hide the sculpture there, it will not have time to heat up very much during the time it is displayed for everyone to see, unless, of course, the room is not 40 degrees hot. Actually, this method is the most common in the case when an ordinary child demonstrated the miracles of creativity, but then you will have to pay constant attention to the figure from day to day, and the slightest mistake can lead to damage to the product, and then all previous efforts to preserve it will go to waste.
In the next video, you will find a brief overview of solidifying plasticine.
