posted May 09, 2013 02:56 PM            

There are many 'recipes' to make your own clay out of household products that most of us have, too.

Would anyone like to participate in a thread in which we get creative making things with homemade or store bought clay? No pressure! Just for fun!

We can have a weekly project that might help us open up a creative side we had not experimented with yet or known we had in us.

All in good fun and for creative growth purposes....

If this sounds like a good idea and you want to participate, please share recipes and suggest projects... we could have a weekly or monthly project to work on.

posted May 10, 2013 01:05 AM            

Well, sculpting is an art Caps are usually great at, I believe.

quote:

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Lately I've been fantasizing about paper mache sculpture

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That fits into this thread. If we can gather up a few more people we could come up with a project and show our finished pieces here.

Even if not, you are welcome to show whatever you are doing in that regard or with clay or sculpture in general - whether mixed media or anything else, here.

......i'm thinking this thread might be another 'sinker'......
...might be just you and me in here AG.....lol

posted May 10, 2013 01:30 PM            

The snake idea is neat. What were you thinking of sculpting it out of?

posted May 10, 2013 03:20 PM            

How heavy is baked Fimo? I see that it's waterproof, which would nice for something made to be outdoors. I also see that you can bake it, and still add on -that's cool. There's always a lot to look into when choosing a medium like this, like now I'm wondering how it would interact with armature and so forth.

I came across a (Cancerian) sculptor recently while watching YouTube videos on paper mache. He doesn't do paper mache, but he sculpts cool stuff. Jeez, I just had to go through a huge search to find this recently Facebook-liked artist... I finally found him. It's Cesar Dacol (Jr.). He does stuff like dragons.

posted May 10, 2013 04:57 PM            

okay am not the arty type lol, but have a sister who is arty etc...and last year she needed a lot of clay, such i am the messy type, i decided to do it for her.

Two clays you guys may enjoy Cold procelain, and an easier paper mache.

Cold Porcelain (this is good for smaller pieces)
The following copied and pasted from the replies here lol http://www.craftstylish.com/item/2802/how-to-make-cold-porcelain/page/all
This is the recipe I go off of, but I scale the measurement down to 1/6 of this and end up with a grapefruit or orange size ball:
3cups Cornstarch - my scale: (1/2cup)
3cups White glue (1/2cup)
1tblsp White Vinegar (1/6)
1tblsp Glycerin (1/6)
2tblsp Canola Oil (1/3)

I cook on stovetop, low heat, 15mins. Looks the same as this recipe, same description, heat until it clumps like ricotta and pulls off the sides. Cover your surface area with cold cream, although I just used regualr Generic Oil of Olay. NO WET CLOTH - NO WATER - just tough it out, it's not that hot, and I bounce it back and forth from hand to hand until it cools, but firmly, like you would ball clay to soften it. Then knead, but like she said, like chewing with fingers. REally get in there. Once it's a nice smooth soft ball, ****STORE IN AIR TIGHT CONTAINER FOR 24HRS!!!!**** Another important factor and reason why your porcelain may be cracking.
The next day, when you take it out... it's just beautiful. I also work with the lotion on my hand and use it alot when smoothing surfaces. I'll post the picture of my pendants and beads soon Hope this works! Patience is key to beautiful, flawless products

And for paper mache clay forgot where i got the recipe, but you will need a blender or hand-held mixer. So first you soak newspaper (usually the supplements work better than the main page) in hot or boiling water over night, after tearing it to bits and pieces...

step 2
take the newspaper out of the water, and if in a blender put in some water and paper and blend (do it bit by bit)...if using a hand held blender (like the one they use in soap making) also put some water and then some paper and blend...until you get something that looks like slime.

step 3
oh yeah...u need a seive to. pour the newspaper goo through the blender and drain from water...but not to well...after you are done with all the paper with go to step 4.

step 4
you need chalk powder (one with calcium...or go to any sport store, and get the powder gymnasts and weight lifters use) okay....oh yes and pass by the art supply store and get a lot of white glue.

step 5
put some paper mash, along with some chalk powder (the more powder the harder your structure will set) and pour the white glue over and stir until you get a greyish goo of consistency you like. Play around with the chalk and glue and paper ratios till you get something you like.

You will still need a 'base' for the paper mache clay. if you want to do a tree trunk for example, get a cardboard cylinder and put plastic wrapper around it, then start applying your goo...ummm paper mache clay, all around it, shape it now, as it'll be real hard when set. then once dry remove the cardboard and wrapper, so it can dry from the inside...this takes 1-3 days to dry.

posted May 11, 2013 12:27 PM            

I'd love to see your pendants and beads!

AG, it doesnt seem too heavy after baking. But I have only made some very small figurines for fun so far, so I don't really know yet.

Going to look up that sculptor....

I'll find an artist I was inspired by, when I can remember the websites address or her name again...

I had bought two large packages of white fimo, because I'd rather paint mine afterwards. But they come in a wide variety of colors.

posted May 11, 2013 03:22 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by T:
[B]Jellyfishtry, THANK YOU!!!
I'd love to see your pendants and beads!
]

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My pleasure! but hahah those pendants and beads aren't mine, it's whomever the blog owners are....though funny you mentioned that, i did used to make Peyote stitch glass bead bracelets to accesorize myself a few years ago
my last ever 'arty' project was copying a much more expensive shoe designer brand, by covering the sole of my heels with glitter
much more suited for my art 'skills' lol

posted May 11, 2013 03:36 PM            

Maybe give it a shot anyway?! Whip up some clay and just have fun with it. Does not have to be anything complicated. Even a wonky bowl or vessel and a bit of paint... you could store thumbtacks in it afterwards or put it on display on a shelf... stick a silk flower in a clay vase...you might surprise yourself with what you can do.

Beads and pendants are rather easy to make, i think.

You have probably heard the quote:

"Every child is an artist....the trick is staying one when you grow up." (something along those lines)

Something to think about anyway.

posted May 11, 2013 06:13 PM            

Interesting about the smoothing. Seems like that would be very helpful.

posted May 11, 2013 07:46 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by AcousticGod:
The artistic adult is the child that survived.

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Love it!!!

And I read earlier that you can also use water to smooth Fimo. I'm finding that none of them work as well as I want them too, but it's probably because what I am working on is on such a small scale. So, it's a little tougher to get into all the grooves and cracks and smooth them out properly with a tiny brush;

a learning process anyway...i'll post my fave so far later.

posted May 12, 2013 08:37 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by T:
Ha! Love it! That's great

Maybe give it a shot anyway?! Whip up some clay and just have fun with it. Does not have to be anything complicated. Even a wonky bowl or vessel and a bit of paint... you could store thumbtacks in it afterwards or put it on display on a shelf... stick a silk flower in a clay vase...you might surprise yourself with what you can do.

Beads and pendants are rather easy to make, i think.

You have probably heard the quote:

"Every child is an artist....the trick is staying one when you grow up." (something along those lines)

Something to think about anyway.

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posted May 13, 2013 09:44 PM            

& I think they have to be smoothed out before baking or else you might be able to take some fine sandpaper to them, i'm not sure. Probably easier to take care of before putting in the oven (especailly because i am working on tiny ones, so sandpaper might be even harder).

I need to put the finishing touches on one of my fun whimsical ones that I wanted to post. Maybe do so later tonight.

posted May 16, 2013 11:24 PM            

Why don't you do them anymore?

AG, can't wait to see it.

posted May 17, 2013 08:28 AM            

I guess my focus is on my greater strengths, mostly,
and on my keener tastes, which are not especially visual,
although I do still enjoy drawing, once in a while,
and basking in the images produced by others.