Once, clay modeling was a routine and unremarkable profession, while today it appears as a kind of children's developmental creativity, an interesting hobby or even a creative way of earning money. Nowadays, this ancient craft, which, it would seem, should disappear under the onslaught of modern technologies, suddenly, on the contrary, has acquired a second wind and is slowly breaking out into fashion trends.
Clay molding is increasingly being introduced into the educational curriculum of kindergartens and general education schools, not to mention art schools, so this topic must necessarily be close to all parents.
The benefits of sculpting
Quite a lot has been written about the benefits of sculpting for children in general, but the emphasis is not always on the fact that this activity brings certain benefits to people of any age. Naturally, at different stages of life, the practicality of such a hobby can be seen from different angles, therefore let's dwell on the advantages of choosing in favor of clay modeling in more detail:
- For children 4-5 years old clay modeling is probably just beginning - they take their first steps in it and acquire their first skills. For them, this lesson is useful by the rapid development of fine motor skills of the hands, which are not yet able to move accurately and confidently, but quickly acquire such abilities through constant practice, which is so similar to an exciting game. Perhaps, you cannot do without imagination, because you can not sculpt something concrete before you imagine it in detail and carefully think over all the steps on the way to achieving the desired result.
All the same advantages are provided by modeling from other materials, the most popular of which is the familiar plasticine, however, clay requires more responsibility, because it still needs to be prepared in advance, and thinking over the process of preparing the material once again makes the brain work.
- For children 6-7 years old priorities are already changing a bit, at least if they started at 4-5 years old and really tried all this time. The elementary accuracy of movements should have already been developed, now it is the turn of the development of such precise movements that most people are beyond the control of. Now fantasy is starting to work much more actively - the child now not only thinks over the implementation of a specific, but not invented idea, but he himself tries to invent a composition, design of a figurine, a plot of a craft and so on.
- Even for adults this activity is extremely beneficial and not so important when you started - in deep childhood or yesterday. First of all, working with clay is very calming and relaxing, which is invaluable in the conditions of too active modern life. Why spend money on an expensive psychologist if you can just sculpt in your free time? At the same time, having achieved certain successes, money can already be earned, because technology and one's own perseverance today allow you to achieve the level of skill that makes a person a professional who makes a living by doing what he loves.
What is the best clay for creativity?
A similar question is very often asked by beginners and those around them, who are not at all familiar with the topic, but already know that the concept of "modeling clay" includes a number of varieties. The answer here cannot be unambiguous, since the diversity of supply is caused by the diversity of demand, and each mass has specific advantages that are ideal for achieving specific tasks.
Therefore, it all depends on what result the master expects to get, although some general advice can still be given.
To do this, let's go through the most famous and popular options:
- Particularly suitable for home use self-hardening claywhich dries in the open air in a certain period of time. This somewhat limits the possibilities for editing the figure, but it does not require a special oven for hardening. The baked clay, however, can be brought to a solid state in a conventional oven, but experienced people say that it is more difficult, and even not recommended because of the danger of poisoning during further cooking in the same place.
- The choice of a huge number of people who today would like to try something similar to classic natural clay, very often falls on blue Cambrian clay. The blue variety is distinguished by a pleasant shade and the possibility of easy coloring in any desired color, relative ease of processing and a high degree of predictability of the final result. Among other things, it is sold both in the already diluted, that is, ready-to-use version, and in dry form, which is well suited for long-term storage of the material.
- For making flowers, knowledgeable people highly recommend cellulose clay. This material is also known as marshmallow clay for its clear resemblance to raw marshmallow. The peculiarity of this raw material lies in the fact that it remains flexible even when solidified, so that the petals made from it seem very natural.
Whichever type of clay you choose, try to keep it evacuated. The fact is that any clay must be thoroughly mixed before molding to a homogeneous state, but in the process of manually performing this procedure, air bubbles enter the mass, which does not contribute to the strength of the finished products. In large workshops, clay is kneaded by special machines - extruders, which can suck air from the working area, but for amateurs, special, already kneaded and evacuated clay is sold.
What products can you make at home?
In fact, absolutely anything can be sculpted from properly selected clay varieties. Since we are talking about modeling lessons, primarily with children, it is worth paying special attention to the fact that what the kids themselves should like, and these are, of course, toys. Most often, figures of animals and birds, as well as fairy-tale heroes, act as a full-fledged game object made by hand - the clay Koschey would look very cute. To increase the believability of the gameplay, you can sculpt a house, toy food, and much more.
In educational institutions, children are at least theoretically prepared for adulthood, so crafts for school and kindergarten are very diverse - among them there is something that is difficult to play, but you can be proud of putting it on the shelf.
A popular plot is a clay oak branch; as a playing field with an eye to future practical use, you can sculpt a whole relief with hills and valleys, fields and roads.
Once they reach a level high enough to make money, creative people tend to move on to more lucrative items, among which ceramic clay jewelry is especially popular, perfectly imitating many other materials. Among women, sculpting of dishes is also very popular, because your own designer cups or a teapot can be presented to loved ones for a holiday, and creating your own pots for home plants will always allow you to have a trump card in your sleeve for demonstration to guests.
Methods and techniques of hand sculpting
There are quite a few different techniques for sculpting clay products by hand, and to create complex masterpieces, craftsmen usually use several of them at once. In fact, a truly talented person does not have to act according to any templates, because his own imagination is enough for him to figure out how to achieve the desired effect, but still consider some of the most popular techniques for example:
- Sculptural modeling. On the one hand, it is the most technically difficult way to create clay figures, on the other hand, it is the only sculpting technique that does not put forward any restrictions on the shape of the result at all. It represents the formation of a future product from a single piece of clay using hands and small improvised tools like stacks.
- On a potter's wheel. The second oldest technique, which at one time allowed our ancestors to make neat round dishes, even if the hands of the master still do not have perfect geometric accuracy. As in the old days, today it is used almost exclusively for sculpting pots and jugs, less often for creating large round objects for any other purpose. It is best combined with natural clay for firing; other materials are practically not used.
- Rope molding... A very peculiar technique in which the future product, whether it is an empty jug inside or a full-fledged huge statue, is made from such “bricks” in the form of bundles. They are stacked one on top of the other, gradually raising the product from the bases to the future top, and the joints between the bundles are separately smeared with liquid clay. This technique allows you to create huge shapes with virtually no loss of geometric correctness.
How to use clay?
Natural clay, unlike most varieties of modern polymer clays, is not ready for modeling right away, it will have to be preliminarily brought to the required condition. For this, it must be of medium humidity, sufficient for modeling.
You can dilute clay at home using ordinary water. If the material has dried so much that it managed to become covered with a hard crust, it is advised to crumble it into pieces (but not very finely), moisten the surface and wrap it with a very wet towel. When the clay is saturated with this little moisture and becomes just dry, without a crust, add a little more water and try kneading with your hands until a homogeneous viscous state.
A sensible result can be achieved only in this way, quickly softening a dried piece by simply throwing it into the water will not work, since the outer layer will "flow", and the inner layer will remain a stone.
If the clay, on the other hand, is too wet, you can try to squeeze small pieces of it by hand so that the water comes out. To speed up the process, wet clay is laid out on a perfectly dry gypsum board, at their maximum contact, the plate will take moisture to itself.
How to store?
Storage methods for modeling clay vary greatly, depending on what the material actually is and what components it contains. Perhaps the easiest way to divide all types of clays into self-hardening and baked, however, if there is an instruction regarding the material that you are holding in your hands, it is better to focus on it immediately.
Self-hardening sculpting materials require storage in strictly sealed conditionsbecause their plasticizers and water evaporate very quickly in the open air, causing the material to solidify, losing plasticity. The fact that you did not have time to give the mass the shape you would like will not make any difference - it will be impossible to restore the clay.
It is only necessary to extract such a mass from a sealed jar directly for sculpting, and you need to sculpt quickly, without stopping, until the project is completed.
With baked masses, the situation is a little simpler - sealed packaging for them will not be superfluous, but it is not mandatory. If excess moisture gets in, such masses are dried (in particular, naturally), and for greater softening, you can add a little water or any plasticizers to them, depending on the type of material and its composition.
Basic sculptor tools
The main tool that no sculptor can do without is his hands, however, only a true master can create a masterpiece with his bare hands. Everyone else will need at least a variety of stacks. This simple tool is intended either for cutting pieces of material (most often flat "pancakes"), or for giving the surface a certain precise shape such as dents, cuts, waviness.
Even for a beginner, it is advisable not to limit yourself to one stack, while a professional should have a whole set. Other cutting tools are used to cut many polymer clays, even a regular knife and scissors can sometimes be useful.
Quite a good assistant in the process of creating believable imitations of something are the so-called textured sheets. They are a thin sheet with an imprint of the texture of some material (for example, tree bark) or with an applied relief pattern. It is enough to attach such a sheet to the surface of the product and press it a little to get the desired texture on the surface of the craft - this saves a huge amount of time and allows you to do good things even for relatively beginners.
Master class for beginners
Modeling flowers with your own hands is a rather difficult task, however, many women are fond of modeling in general for this very reason. To achieve the most believable result it is better to sculpt flowers from Japanese clay "Orchid" or any other similar material.
To begin with, it is worth preparing all the necessary materials - marshmallow clay in the shade of the flowers themselves and their stems, a sharp clerical knife that will not leave tears along the cut line, liquid clay-gel, several toothpicks, and, if required by this type of flower, additional decorations, for example, settings.
Petals can be made by incompletely cutting a small “drop” of material and gently bending them to the sides. They are rolled to a flat state with the help of toothpicks, with which the future petals are pressed to the hand, the veins are made with the sharp end of the toothpick, the tips are wrapped inside the flower cup by winding them onto the same simple tool. If necessary, settings are attached to the top, imitating stamens. Individual parts are carefully glued together with liquid gel and baked in this form.
Ideas for inspiration
Novice masters often give up when a few self-invented ideas do not lend themselves to implementation, and for something simpler, but more interesting, there is not enough imagination. Here are just a few examples of crafts that don't require extreme skill or craftsmanship, but still look amazing.
The first example very clearly shows how, without any extraordinary effort, to make a rather interesting craft that will immediately cheer up a novice master.
The second example is the gingerbread man. It may not look as cute as orange slices, but in some ways it is a little more difficult to execute, so it will be even more fun if it works out in the end. In general, nothing complicated either.
The third example is mice, one of the most beloved subjects of the sculptors. Here, at a minimum, you will need certain skills in owning a stack, and the shape of the animal's body is somewhat more complex, but the heart can be taken away for the first time - it will still turn out very beautiful and bright.
In the video below you can see interesting animals that can be made from clay.
