Every year more and more various materials appear for creativity and the implementation of the most incredible ideas. You can create small masterpieces from polymer clay: buttons, earrings, rings, figurines of animals and various objects, thematic plots and other products.
Now everyone can use such material, because it is sold in any art store or stationery department and has an affordable price.
What it isPolymer clay is a lamellar mass, similar to plasticine, but when solidified, it forms plastic. It is intended for modeling and modeling various products for children's and adult creativity.
A large number of varieties are now presented: one freezes when heated, others on their own for several hours.
The basis of the clay mass is polyvinyl chloride (PVC), auxiliary components (pigments for coloring, white porcelain, kaolin, talc, various stabilizers, plasticizers, cellulose, mica, chalk). The most common brands:
- Fimo is one of the first brands;
- Darwi;
- Polyform Sculpey;
- Decoclay;
- Cernit;
- Keraplast;
- bake shop;
- Kato;
- Flower.
For some, it takes time to harden in the open air, for others, an oven for baking finished products.
Finished products can be painted with acrylic paints, mechanical actions (drilling, piercing) can be performed, the product does not break from them.
How to chooseBefore you buy the material, you need to decide:
- what product will be made, what colors of clay to choose for them;
- whether the oven will be used for solidification;
- need a very soft or harder material for modeling.
Clay manufacturers every year create new types with different properties. It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that some manufacturers produce:
- material based on natural components, others from synthetic materials;
- soft or hard;
- fast - slowly hardening or by applying temperature;
- children are allowed to work with some, only adults with others;
- some become brittle after solidification, others are ductile and amenable to further processing;
- some deform upon contact with water, others do not;
- some manufacturers have 2-4 colors, others have more than 10;
- some sell small packages, others - large ones.
Therefore, before buying, you should read the instructions and the characteristics of the material.
Suitable for working with children: Ezki, BakeShop, Fimo - they are soft and eco-friendly. For the manufacture of figurines - Premo, Kato, Skulpey. For beginners, you can make clay at home, and as you gain experience, you can switch to a professional one.
How to make composition at homeThere are many recipes for creating polymer clay at home, but each has its own characteristics.
Recipe number 1: for working with childrenRequired components:
- corn or potato starch - 100 g;
- glycerin - 30 g;
- PVA glue - 150 g;
- food coloring - the amount depends on the desired color.
Glycerin, glue and starch are thoroughly kneaded and put in a water bath for 10-15 minutes, then cool to a temperature that is acceptable for the skin of the hands to knead the dough. So that it does not freeze, it is laid out in a plastic bag and stored in the refrigerator.
Required components:
- salt - 50 g;
- soda - 50 g;
- starch (corn, potato) - 150 g;
- warm water -100 g;
- food coloring.
Divide the water in half: dissolve starch in one, pour salt, soda and food coloring into the other, put on fire. Water with salt and dye should come to a boil, then dissolved starch is added to it and thoroughly mixed until a homogeneous mass.
Recipe number 3Required components:
- starch - 150 g;
- vaseline - 50 g;
- baby cream - 50 g;
- PVA glue - 150 g;
- food coloring;
- vegetable (vaseline, olive) oil - 30 g.
This recipe has its own peculiarity, clay does not require heat treatment for cooking. Mix all the ingredients and stir until smooth, then slowly add the starch and knead the dough.
Tools needed for sculpting
To create masterpieces from polymer clay, you need to prepare a place and tools. It is important that all tools after sculpting are not used for cooking, but it is better to leave them only for making crafts:
- board on which products will be made;
- knives, wooden sticks, wire;
- rolling pin, empty bottle, pasta machine;
- molds;
- decor materials (beads, beads, sequins, lace, foil, fasteners, chains, etc.)
- gloves;
- napkins;
- sandpaper or nail file for grinding;
- acrylic paints, varnish;
- utensils for baking.
When creating products, you must adhere to several rules:
It is important to remember that during drying the product decreases in size, so in order to get the required size at the exit, the figure needs to be made a little larger.
How to sculpt
Prepare a tool and a workplace, choose 1 or more colors to create beads. For the first product, it is better to take a simple craft (for example, beads).
The final stage in the manufacture of beads is varnishing and stringing them on a prepared ribbon or rope.
What can be done
Thousands of various products will be obtained from polymer clay: accessories, jewelry, figurines, figurines and other items. Most often, beads, earrings, rings, fairy-tale characters, animal figurines, key rings, flowers, mugs, Christmas tree decorations are made from it.
You need to know that if the required color is not on sale, then it is allowed to mix it and get a variety of colors and shades.
Toys
To create a toy, you need to decide on the color and shape (volumetric or flat). For a flat figure (for example, a fish), you need:
- prepare a sketch drawn on thick paper or cardboard and cut it out;
- cut off a piece and roll out with a rolling pin;
- attach clay to the cut out sketch, cut with a knife;
- add beaded eyes to the figure or rolled up small circles of clay, make scales with a knife, cutting semicircles along the entire length of the fish.
After that, the figure should be wiped with a damp alcohol wipe, cleaning it. Put in the oven for baking, then pull out, dry and cover with acrylic varnish.
Thus, you can make cartoon characters, gingerbread, a cat, a dog, Smeshariki, even buttons. To give flat figures a semi-bulge or wavy shape: for this, it is necessary to lay out the blanks on the prepared foil figures.
dollsDoll to choose from: voluminous or flat. For a three-dimensional figure, balls are rolled out like sausages from plasticine.
To make a ball is a head.
The torso must be made in the form of a cone, arms and legs should be rolled into sausages.
You can make the feet and hands flat, using a sketch and stick to the sausages.
To the finished doll, add a dress, costume and headdress, beaded or beaded eyes, a handbag, etc.
New Year crafts
To decorate the Christmas tree, you can make toys in the form of large and small balls, geometric shapes, Santa Claus, a snowman, a snow maiden, a snowflake and others.
One of the options for crafts is a combination of several colors, using the example of a snowflake of 2 colors (blue and white):
Before baking, make holes in the snowflake with a toothpick, so that later there is where to thread the rope.
figurines
Figurines are made in the likeness of a doll, you can combine colors or make one color and paint after baking. For figurines, it will be necessary to make a pedestal on which the figurine is attached, so that later it can be placed and hung.
Creating a mug or flower pot is a rather complicated process; for it, it is necessary to choose clay that is harder and dries quickly. To make the figure even and beautiful, especially for beginners, you need to take a form - a plastic glass or a finished mug.
Choose a material and roll out large cakes from it, but not thin ones 1-1.5 cm thick.
Lubricate the form with vegetable oil or rinse with water.
Stick around the mug from the inside, carefully connecting the layers of clay so that there are no cracks, ideally it should be made from one whole piece.
Pull out the figure and put in the oven for baking, then degrease with soapy water and open with varnish.
Flowers
The creation of flowers is a kind of symphony in the form of a bouquet, key chain, earrings or just a picture or a watch.
To create a rose, you need to roll out the plates, roll the first one into a tube, and gradually wrap the rest, spreading the petals. Chamomile is made from plates: paper blanks with sharp or round edges and cut out the required amount on them.
Then combine and bake. You can create dahlias from balls that are cut in a circle with scissors, forming sharp petals, a little prickly, like a hedgehog.
Ideas for modelingA few things to keep in mind while working:
Modern masters develop many different techniques for sculpting and making figures. For a novice crafter, it is better to make simple, light figures from home-made clay.
Badanina Alevtina Pavlovna
Master class for teachers "Sculpt from clay"
Municipal preschool educational institution
"Kindergarten No. 2 v. Vokhma" Kostroma region
Master Class
conducted by the teacher Chicherina E. B.
Subject:
"We sculpt from clay".January 2015.
Tasks of the master class:
Target: Transferring the experience of a teacher in working with clay.
Tasks:
1. To give practical knowledge to teachers about the correct preparation of clay for work, drying a clay product, firing.
2. Increase interest in clay as a natural material and the desire to work with it.
3. Involve educators to work together with clay in the manufacture horse: toys - whistles.
4. Raise the skill level of teachers.
5. Cause a positive attitude in working with clay.
Presentation of the pedagogical experience of the educator
on this topic "We sculpt from clay".
I want to tell you about clay, about the material that we always have at hand, or rather under our feet. Since ancient times, people have used clay: they made bricks from it, built houses. In the old days, stoves were called "horns", hence the word "potters". They made dishes from clay and, of course, toys - for their own fun, for fun for the kids. And they were treated with clay. So what is clay?
Clay .
Clay is a plastic natural material. It does not let water through, does not rot. In nature, brown clay is found, red, blue, white and black. Clay is oily, skinny, medium.
Clay preparation.
Clay with a low sand content is suitable for modeling (15% sand). Clay is crushed, placed in a container, covered with a cloth. Then boiling water is poured on the clay through the cloth, covered with a film on top, and then with a cloth. In this form, the clay is left overnight to "I insisted". After that, you need to take a wet cotton cloth and wrap a small lump of clay in it. The clay is kneaded through a cloth into a thin cake, rolled up and kneaded again. Periodically, the fabric is rinsed, squeezed, and the clay is kneaded again through the fabric. Repeat this procedure until the clay becomes plastic. Clay should not contain any impurities, small pebbles, air. To find out the readiness of clay, you need to roll a sausage out of it and roll it up. When folding, no cracks form on the clay, which means that the clay is ready for modeling. If cracks appear, then the clay is not yet ready for work. If there is a lot of water in the clay, you need to take a dry cloth and knead the clay through a dry cloth. (fabric absorbs excess moisture). If the clay is dry, use a damp cloth.
Equipment.
The workplace should be clean, comfortable, so that everything is at hand. We need clay, a container of water, rags, stacks of different sizes, wooden spatulas, knives. Some of the tools you will always find in the house. These are forks, graters, a rolling pin, baking tins, a comb, a toothpick, etc. It is good to purchase or make your own turnstile - a stand for clay crafts. With the help of a tournette, you do not have to pick up the product every time. It is enough to turn the turnstile wheel around itself. If desired, a clay toy can be painted with bright colors, varnished.
The product must be made hollow (blank) inside, so that the craft dries quickly, evenly and is not very heavy. All irregularities must be leveled, rubbed with a damp cloth, and the parts must be carefully lubricated to each other. If you need to make holes, then you need to do them right away. Otherwise, after the product has dried, it will be almost impossible to do this. During modeling, clay must be covered with a damp cloth so that it does not dry out.
It is necessary to dry the product for 2-3 days away from heating devices, in a natural way. After 3 days, the craft can be dried on a baking sheet. If cracks appear on the product, then they must be covered with slip (special water-clay glue) and dry again. Smooth out irregularities with sandpaper.
Firing of the product must be carried out in a muffle furnace (possible in a Russian oven) at a temperature of 800 degrees. After firing the clay (except white) changes color to brown, red, greenish, the colors of baked milk, butter, depending on the initial color of the clay. If the clay modeling technology is done correctly (the clay is well mixed, has no impurities, is dried enough, then after firing the clay acquires color, this is ceramics. If the clay preparation technology and drying are violated, then the product may burst during firing. Sometimes, before firing, the product is covered with red lead lead (lead oxide) to give it a nice touch.
Clay is a healer.
Clay draws out diseases. For pain in the legs, clay is bred (rubbing) in water and placed in the sun. Then sore legs are lowered into this water for 2 hours. If the joints hurt, you can make a cake out of clay and put it on the sore spot.
Question for intellectuals.
In transmission "Field of Dreams" L. Yakubovich asked question: “In China, before letting strangers into the city, they were offered to eat it. What had to be eaten before entering the city? ( Answer: "Piece of Clay".) It turns out that clay cleanses the intestines well. It is used in cosmetology: in creams, masks, because clay cleans the skin well. A lump of clay is placed in milk so that the milk does not turn sour.
The teacher of the master class distributes the material to the participants and gradually performs the work.
Today I suggest you mold a toy out of clay - a whistle in the form of a painted horse.
1. First, prepare clay for work, i.e., knead it well so that it becomes soft and plastic.
2. Take a lump of clay and gently put it on the thumb of your left hand, and, squeezing the clay around your finger, make a cone.
3. Carefully remove the cone from the finger, covering the base of the cone with a clay plate.
4. Apply a stack of three holes for the whistle, according to the diagram. By adjusting the thickness of the hole, achieve a sonorous whistle.
5. Sculpt the head of the horse and gently stick it to the base of the toy.
6. Make the legs of the horse. Give the toy a stable position.
7. Smooth out all the irregularities with a damp cloth, apply a pattern - an ornament.
8. Dry the horse whistle according to the drying technology.
9. Apply a bright pattern to the toy, cover with a colorless varnish.
Dear Colleagues! I think that you liked to sculpt from clay. During the modeling you were in a good mood, everyone worked with desire.
I advise you to: when you sculpt with clay, smile at her! After all, clay is a living material. Blinded the head of the toy, painted the eyes. Look, she's looking at you. Say hello to her! And you are already good friends with this little lump of clay. Clay will thank you! It will bring you and your children joy, health and a lot of positive emotions!
My 3 year old daughter loves to sculpt. Together we master new techniques, materials and molds for modeling. Today I will tell you about the features of clay modeling for beginners.
Modeling from plasticine, clay, salt dough and other plastic material well calms the nervous system of the most mobile baby, captivates the most restless fidget, calms and pacifies. Modeling is considered an important component of art therapy.
Modeling allows you to develop fine motor skills, expands spatial thinking. Inventing and embodying figures from plasticine, clay or dough with the baby, parents stimulate his cognitive activity, the child imagines, invents and beats what he has come up with.
Clay is a material for co-creationClay is the most plastic and profitable material for modeling. Finished products do not break, keep their shape for a long time. And most importantly, fairy-tale locker handles molded from clay together with the baby, a dollhouse, counting material - mushrooms, the alphabet, etc. well complement the interior of the children's room and will be dear to the child.
In clay modeling, beginners should immediately decide on the type of material. Clay is different. It can vary in color, consistency, plasticity, and even the presence of water in it.
If cracks appear on the finished product during work, this indicates an incorrect technique for working with the material or a lack of moisture in the clay. There is blue clay, which is enough to get out of the package and knead. There are types of clay that require the addition of water when working with them.
Separately, I want to highlight polymer clay. Very good molding material. Polymer clay is based on PVC and plastic binders; finished products from such clay need to be baked at a temperature of 110 degrees.
Another type of polymer clay is made from a combination of natural ingredients and organic polymers. This material is self-hardening, finished products do not need heat treatment.
Since we decided to master modeling together with children, polymer clay must also be chosen safe to work with kids. With my children, I use Fimo Air self-hardening polymer clay, it contains more than 90% natural materials, is environmentally friendly and is well suited for children's modeling.
Clay modeling for beginners requires strict adherence to all the rules for organizing the workplace. On the table before sculpting, you should:
- spread oilcloth or other covering material;
- put a bowl half filled with water;
- prepare a dry towel and a damp sponge;
- put a wooden stack and a plastic brush in front of you.
Now you can start a trial clay modeling lesson for beginners. We take out the clay from the bag, box, plastic bucket. Roll into a tourniquet, or pinch off pieces. We knead the blanks.
If the clay is too dry and is about to crumble between your fingers, place it on a table, dip your brush in water, and run the wet brush over the clay. Moisten the clay until it reaches the desired plasticity.
Attention! In the process of sculpting, the clay may stick a little to the fingers, so that this does not interfere, periodically wipe your hands with a towel and a damp sponge.
If cracks appear on the clay figurine, gently rub them with a finger dipped in water. Finished products should be dried during the day. Then they can be colored and decorated.
The only “but” in natural clay modeling is the processing of the finished product. If you do not have a muffle furnace, the finished clay figurine must be dried for 5-6 days, for example, on the windowsill. To prevent the figurine from cracking, cover it with polyethylene for a day.
Sand the dried product and impregnate with PVA glue. Once the glue has dried, you can paint the figurine with gouache, tempera or acrylic paint. Instead of PVA, you can use an acrylic primer as a base for paint. The finished product can be varnished.
Clay toys from the Paraskeva workshop, Diveevo village
Clay figurines in the interior of a children's room
With the help of clay modeling, you can decorate any space. Especially the children's room. For example, decorate the handles of cabinets, doll furniture, a table or a chest of drawers with stucco molding. You can also make materials for role-playing and educational games together with your child: figures of vegetables and fruits in the game “Shop”, counting material (numbers, signs, figures), letters for the magnetic alphabet and much more.
Cabinet handles made of polymer clay. Master class on the link
Lamp “Tabby cat”
Making products from natural clay began in the Stone Age. With the help of clay, our ancestors created tablets, dishes, jewelry, toys and much more. This activity is still very much appreciated. After all, modeling from clay is not an easy job, it is a huge work in which a person invests his love and time. But despite all the difficulties, sculpting from clay is a pleasure. Whatever the result, you will be happy, because this, maybe not yet a big figure, you blinded yourself, with your own hands.
This article will help you experience that happiness. In it, you will learn the basics that will help you in further sculpting products.
Clay for modelingThe first thing to do is to choose the material from which you will create. Nowadays, finding good modeling clay is not a problem. To do this, just go to any store with stationery for children. These stores sell gray clay, which is great for beginners. It is soft, comfortable and inexpensive.
For more complex creations, soluble blue or natural clay is suitable. It is important to remember that blue clay must be sifted before being dissolved. But for natural clay, you will have to arrange a check. To do this, try to make a figure out of it, and if you notice cracks on the final form, then this clay should not be used for modeling.
There are several types of clays that are not suitable for modeling - these are grainy and rough.
Modeling methodsAfter you have chosen the clay, it is worth considering how you want to mold your invention. Clay can be molded in a variety of ways. They are divided into 7 types:
The figurine is created from different parts, starting with the largest and ending with the smallest parts.
The figurine is created from one piece of clay. All parts of the product appear due to the stretching of the main piece of clay.
This method combines the constructive and plastic methods.
Modeling can be performed using two materials:
- stripes
- plates
Relief molding can be done using several methods:
- Applying the drawing
- Putting forms on the base
- Choosing Clay
This technique also considers several execution paths:
- By molding from a ball
- Through a circular path
The figurine is created using harnesses.
If you are sculpting for the first time, it is best to start with a whole piece of clay (i.e. the plastic method), and then move on to more complex methods. For the plastic method, it is enough to have a piece of clay, imagination, a simple picture in front of your eyes and the most important tool - your hands. If you have experience with plasticine, then you will quickly get the hang of working with clay.
After choosing the clay and modeling method, you can move on to the practical part. Thanks to the recommendations that will be given below, you can quickly overcome the status of "beginner" and move to the level of "mastery", i.e. to other, more complex methods of sculpting figures.
- During the sculpting process, you must have clean hands, clean tools and a clean surface.
- If other colors are to be included in your product, then start with darker and brighter colors and finish with white.
- Sculpt on a smooth surface
- Instead of stacks, you can use toothpicks
- Fingerprints often remain on polymer clay, so use gloves to keep your creations smooth and tidy.
- Choose gloves carefully, they should be as tight as possible, otherwise it will be inconvenient for you to sculpt
- If you need to cut something, use a utility knife
Naturally, nothing ends with the molding. After you have completed your figure, it must be processed. This is done so that your figurine looks great and stays strong for a long time.
How is processing done? To begin with, your work must be completely dry. Remember that dried 
the clay is much lighter and lighter, so it will not be difficult for you to determine whether it has dried or not. Dry her
preferably first in a bag, and then, if desired, you can dry it and burn it in the oven. It is worth knowing that you can only burn a completely dried product on a gentle fire.
After you have completed this lengthy process, proceed to the actual processing - apply white enamel to the surface of the figurine. White enamel will level the surface of the product. After alignment, you can color the figure.
The last thing you can do is apply a thin layer of PVA glue. It will add shine to your product. But it can only be applied after the paint has dried.
In all legends about the creation of the world, it is mentioned that the Creator created people from ordinary clay. It is not for nothing that our forefathers treated clay very carefully and with respect, creating almost all household items from it.
In modern times, clay crafts are a kind of hobby. Professionals and amateurs can make real masterpieces from ordinary natural material, which can be compared to a work of art.
In order to start sculpting from clay, you do not need large financial investments or special skills, just desire is enough.
Scope of applicationIn order to start making any product, it is important to know what is made of clay.
It is generally accepted that her destiny is pots and bowls. And as it turned out, a lot of different figurines are made from it, bricks are cast for building houses, paints are made for dyeing fabrics, used in cosmetology, and cement is also produced by mixing clay with lime rocks.
Varieties of clayClay is natural and artificial.
- Artificial is polymer clay, or plastic. Created chemically.
- Natural clay is mined from the earth itself. It is 100% ecological product.
There are several types of natural clay: red, white and blue. Each of them has its own characteristics. Depending on what is made of clay, its properties and characteristics are taken into account.
General rules for sculpting from all types of clayFirst, it is important to remember that clay is not plasticine, it is a more delicate and sensitive material, and it must be handled with care and kindness.
Secondly, during the modeling process, the clay must always remain damp. If it does not contain enough moisture, it can be diluted with ordinary running water to the desired consistency. At the end of work or during a break, the remaining material should be covered with a damp cloth.
Thirdly, if cracks and chips appear in the parts during the modeling process, they can be smoothed out with fingers moistened with plain water or an aqueous solution of clay.
When creating a craft from any type of clay, you need to start with the main, larger parts, gradually attaching smaller ones to them.
It is strictly forbidden to attach new parts from raw material to a dried craft - they will not join and can destroy the whole work. If there is a need to supplement or change the work with something, then you can use ordinary glue.
And the most important thing. It doesn't matter what, how and what they do. From polymer clay or ordinary natural - any thing after sculpting must be dried!
Clay crafts: a detailed descriptionWe found out what almost everything is made of clay. But the first thing that can be made from it is a bowl, vase or jug with an intricate and beautiful handle.
In order to make clay jugs, you need: a suitable piece of red clay, a wooden potter's wheel and a desire to create.
The jug has a main body, a handle and a spout. Each of these parts has its own purpose and is an integral part of the dishes.
Sculpting technology:
The jug is ready after drying.
With jugs, everything is clear. How are vases made from clay? Very simple. They are made according to the same principle as jugs. With the gradual rotation of the potter's wheel and giving any shape and height.
Having set the necessary shape of the bottom, the workpiece must be given the main and main part, then narrowed to the neck, level its height, and start leveling the surface of the walls.
A vase can be fashioned in almost any shape, the only condition is its round bottom and, as a result, its symmetrical shape.
After completing all the necessary manipulations with the manufacture and modeling of a vase, it can be left as it is. And you can use special knives and cutters to make all kinds of drawings on its surface. But this must be done immediately after sculpting, not allowing the workpiece to dry.
SummarizeThis article discusses how and what is made of clay. As it turned out, almost everything is made from it, both kitchen utensils and unique things for decoration.
It is worth noting that excellent designer jewelry is made from polymer clay of chemical origin, which is not inferior to jewelry in its beauty.