How to make a human head from clay. What can you make from polymer clay? How to make polymer clay at home

To teach children useful creativity, first see for yourself how to sculpt figures, flowers, and a whistle from clay; read about this natural material.

Selection of material and its preparation for work

And now this material is one of the most accessible. It can be found on the banks of ponds, in pits, or even on your summer cottage. It’s enough to dig deeper, and the coveted building material is in your hands. In nature there is reddish and blue clay. For crafts, the first one is most often used. Its pieces are poured with water for 1–2 days, then mixed to form a mass of uniform consistency.

In order to make clay figures, flowers, dishes, jewelry, it should feel like soft plasticine to the touch. Therefore, pieces of clay for such creativity are mixed with a small amount of water. If you are laying a brick oven or want to coat an already finished one, the solution should be more liquid - like thick sour cream.

Clay can be thin, medium and fat. To understand whether this product is suitable for modeling, knead it in your hands and roll it into a sausage. If it doesn’t crack or stick to your hands, you can create from it.

Modeling techniques

1. Mash a piece of plastic mass in your hands. If you want to get a disk-shaped workpiece, roll it into a ball and flatten it. From such a circle you can quickly make simple clay figures, for example, a bird. To do this, pull the piece forward on one side of the ball at the top to form a beak. On the back side below you need to pull out part of the clay in the opposite direction, make a tail, and wings on the sides. All that remains is to place the workpiece on two small branches - the bird's legs, and the new clay toy is ready.
2. If you want to make a sculpture from several parts, create them first. To “glue” these blanks together, moisten the adjacent parts with water and do this. You can make a mash of clay and “glue” individual elements together with it. The same solution will help get rid of cracks that appear during the drying process of the product. It is enough to lubricate them with this mash.
3. If you plan to make original things from clay, you can use a toothpick and plastic cutlery. They press on an already formed, but not yet dried, workpiece from of this material, it turns out an interesting drawing. Using a toothpick, you can draw patterns on them.
4. The technology of prints is interesting. If you cut a seal out of wood or take a ready-made one, press it onto a piece of clay, and then let the cast dry, you will have your own seal. And if the young sculptor presses his palm to the rolled clay, then he will receive its imprint. A great idea is to leave a hand or foot print as a souvenir that you can look at over time when the baby grows up.
5. If you wrap a toy or figurine in food foil and attach clay rolled out with a rolling pin on top, you will have to wait a day. After this, you carefully remove it from the base and leave to dry. After processing, the resulting figurine can be painted, and you will have a double of your favorite toy.
6. You can decorate a product that has not yet dried with beads, shells, pebbles, feathers, scales of cones, etc.

DIY clay toys

• clay;
• water;
• sponge;
• toothpick;
• gouache;
• with a knife;
• sandpaper;
• white gouache;
• paint;
• varnish.

1. If you bought powdered clay, dilute it with water according to the instructions. Modeling mass is also sold in vacuum packaging. If you obtained the clay yourself, dig it up and fill it with water. When unnecessary impurities, plant roots, and pebbles settle to the bottom, strain the solution through a colander or sieve and leave the mass in the sun for a day to dry a little.
2. Add a little water to the clay, knead the “dough”, it should not stick to your hands.
3. Pour water into a bowl to wet your hands while working and seal any cracks that form.
4. Tear off a piece of clay, knead it in your hands, and roll it into a ball on a work surface moistened with water.
5. For such a clay toy, tentacles can be made in two ways. For the first one, you need to roll 12-16 sausages, pointed at one end. With the other side, attach them to the body using water. In the second method, you need to pull out the lower part of the ball, cut it into tentacles with a plastic knife, and give them an oval shape.
6. Dip a sponge in water and wet the surface of the clay toy, smoothing out any unevenness or cracks.
7. Let the workpiece dry overnight, then sand the surface with fine sandpaper.
8. Few people have a special kiln for firing, so give the toy strength at home. Wrap it in a plastic bag with holes and place it on the hot battery.
9. Cover the toy with the first layer of white gouache, let it dry, then apply the second. After it dries, cover it with yellow or other paint.
10. The facial features and other small details can be sculpted at the same time as you make the toy itself, or you can create them separately and attach them with ceramic glue at this final stage.

To give strength to the product, you can wrap the clay piece in foil and put it in the fire. But the fire should not be high so that the craft does not crack.

• clay;
• plastic knife;
• modeling board;
• water;
• gouache;
• acrylic paints;
• a soft cloth to dry your hands.

To prevent the plastic mass from sticking to the board, place a sheet of paper here. Connect the parts with liquid clay called slip.

• clay;
• stacks, sticks;
• water;
• sponge;
• acrylic paints.

1. Take a piece of clay and roll it into a ball. Place your thumb inside and flatten the workpiece to create a plate with wide edges.
2. Without removing it from your finger, wrap it around it. Then remove it and join the edges together to leave an inner hole.
3. Wet your fingers in water and smooth the outer surface of the toy with them.
4. Cut a hole in the tail with a knife. Insert a stick into it and cover it with a clay patch.
5. At this stage, you need to check the toy by whistling into the hole made. The pitch of the notes can be adjusted to make it larger or smaller. To be able to blow out different notes while playing music, make a small through hole on the sides.
6. Let's move on to smaller details. Sculpt the eyes, beak, crest, paws. Apply a pattern on the wings using a stack.
7. Soak the sponge in water, wring it out, and run it over the surface of the toy to smooth out roughness and unevenness.
8. Let the whistle dry for 4 hours, after which it is placed in an oven for firing, where it will remain for 8 hours at 800°.

How to make flowers from clay?

Modeling helps develop not only healthy children, but also those with health problems. The master class presented below promotes the rehabilitation of children with diseases of the musculoskeletal system.

More and more adults are engaged in Handmade art. Modeling dolls from polymer clay has become a favorite pastime of many people. Not only young people, but also older people do this. Dolls are made from polymer clay. It would be more correct to call this material plastic. Plastic exists in several varieties:

• Pink or beige - Super Sculpey.
• Translucent - Cernit.
• Fragile and tough - Fimo.
• Ideal for dolls - Promat.
• Paperclay, it contains paper.

Our master class consists of two parts: a simple dummy figurine and a Princess doll.

Let's start by creating a simple dummy figurine. First you need to calculate the proportions of the doll. The formula is: body length = 7 toy heads. Dolls with a model appearance will have a body of 8-9 units of measurement.

Let's take a steel wire and bend it so that we get a loop. We wrap the foil tightly around this frame. We must get the required head volume.

Let's make hands. Roll out a piece of clay into a cylinder shape until it looks like a doll's hand. We cut through the part, spreading our fingers a little. We round the nails. The thumb should be slightly protruded.

We connect the hands with wire.

We form a foot blank from clay. On one side it is thicker (heel), on the other it is thinner (toe). Press the fingers with a stack, draw nails and folds. Add pieces of clay rolled out into a cylinder (continuation of the legs). We insert long pieces of wire into the legs.

We outline the waist by twisting the wire. Forming the torso. We wrap foil around the wire and smooth out the creases. Using clay balls we make breasts.

Our figurine is ready. Clothes, hair, dyeing - it all depends on your imagination.

Princess doll

We sculpt a Princess doll from polymer clay. As a child, every girl dreams of becoming a princess. Let's go back to childhood for a moment and think about how you can dress such a doll so that she looks like a princess. The doll can be of any height, it depends on your desire. It's better to start with a small doll.

To work you will need:

1. Wire.
2. Painting tape.
3. Flesh-colored polymer clay.
4. Acrylic paints and nail polish.
5. Pastel.
6. Hair (wig).
7. Foam rubber.
8. Fabric for a dress.
9. Braid, beads.
10. Fabric glue.

Let's get started

We make a doll frame from wire and wrap it with masking adhesive tape.

We cover the frame with plastic. We sculpt the body. We smooth out the details that are visible well. The doll will have a deep neckline.

Our master class will help you sculpt your head. After we have sculpted it, we cut the line of the head with a blade. The line runs from the neck to the top of the head. We take out the pieces of plastic in the place where the neck connects to the head. The head should rotate freely.

We sculpt our hands. For the arms we make a frame from thinner wire. We fasten the wire with adhesive tape and bend the fingers. Cover the doll's hands with clay. We shape and sculpt the legs in almost the same way. We bake the resulting preparations in the oven.

We connect all the parts of the doll. We sand the unevenness with sandpaper. We try on the head, sharpen it if necessary. We trim and adjust. Then we glue and sand the seam. Glue the arms and legs to the body. We wrap the waist and wire part with foam rubber and thread.

The doll is almost ready. She needs clothes. We select fabrics and make sketches. We cover parts of the arms, legs and waist, wrapped in foam rubber, with fabric. Sew on the remaining parts of the dress. We decorate the dress with beads and beads.

Either we buy a ready-made wig, or we glue the hair ourselves. Mohair is best suited for this purpose. If you don’t have it, take artificial hair. We drill a hole on the top of the doll's head, and with a pencil we draw a spiral on the head (as hair grows). Glue the hair along the drawn lines. At the end, we apply glue to a bunch of hair and insert it into the hole on the head. Draw eyes with acrylic paint. Apply blush with pink paint. Apply nail polish to the eyelids and lips. Draw eyebrows and eyelashes with a brush. The princess is ready.

Clothing and jewelry may vary:

IN Lately DIY crafts are becoming more and more popular. Modeling also applies to this. Unfortunately, not everyone has the opportunity to buy clay for modeling; they don’t have the funds or it is not available in stores. We propose to solve this problem by making modeling clay with your own hands. Polymer clay is also created with your own hands in order to avoid high costs when you are just starting to get acquainted with this material.

Types of clay crafts

So, clay can be natural and it can be artificial. Polymer clay is a very convenient material: it becomes hard only when exposed to high temperatures, and at room temperature it is a very soft material. It is perfect for sculpting dishes and crafts: accessories, decorative items, jewelry and many other products. They are made only from clay or combined with other decorative items: beads, sequins.

Simple recipe

To create clay, we will need PVA glue, a glass of corn starch, a tablespoon of Vaseline and silicone-free hand cream, two tbsp. l. lemon juice, bowl, plastic wrap and spatula.

Mix starch, Vaseline and glue until smooth. Add lemon juice and stir. We put the resulting mixture in the microwave for thirty seconds, take it out, mix and put it in the microwave again for the same amount of time.

Spread glue over the working area. We put the resulting mass on top and begin to knead it. Then, roll the resulting dough into a sausage, wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator.

Second way

This recipe is more suitable for sculptural plastic, as the products are more durable and solid.

To make such clay we will need st. wood glue, 100 g corn starch, art. l. stearic acid, glycerin and petroleum jelly, 13 g of citric acid and container. It is best to take one where the coating does not burn.

Combine all ingredients except starch. Then, put on warm heat and stir. Slowly add table starch and mix thoroughly so that there are no lumps. After our mixture begins to peel off from the edges of the sides, spread it onto the work area and knead it like dough. Then, let it cool and put it in the refrigerator, after wrapping it in cling film. If you want to paint, you can do this using regular acrylic paints.

This method of creating clay is perfect for dishes.

Modeling lesson

The process of sculpting from homemade polymer clay can be seen using the example of sculpting flowers, namely roses.

To work, we will need homemade clay, a stationery knife, pins, foil and toothpicks.

We paint our clay in the desired shade and knead it. Let's make sausage. Cut the clay into pieces. Press the piece with your finger to create a rose petal. We make the core by wrapping the first “cake” into a roll. Next, attach each petal. We roll the rose between our fingers, thereby stretching out its tail. Use a utility knife to cut off excess clay.

Carefully make a hole in the middle with a toothpick, without piercing the product completely. This is necessary for sculpting jewelry, for example, earrings, in order to then insert the earring itself.

Video on the topic of the article

Watch a video collection on how to do it right polymer clay with your own hands and what products can be sculpted from it.

The ability to work with clay is very important today fashion hobby. And the most enthusiastic amateurs have every prospect of growing into real masters. It’s great when what you love turns into a source of income that allows you to live comfortably. What is quite realistic is that high-quality clay products (figurines, toys, whistles, panels, dolls, jewelry) are not cheap. Each of them is unique, inimitable, this is not a stamp that came off a factory container. Ceramics always add style and charm to the interior. That’s why the works of masters are in demand.

But before you become a master, you need to start somewhere. And to begin with, of course, from the simplest. Something that is easy to understand and repeat, doing sculpting from scratch and without a teacher.

We bring to your attention step-by-step instructions for working with clay for beginners

from Evgenia Afonasenko, teacher of the DPI class of the State Educational Institution “Mogilev School of Arts” No. 6 (Belarus).

How to choose clay

1. Store-bought modeling clay.

For beginners, it is better to purchase clay in special art stores. It is sold already prepared for work. Found in small packages up to half a kilo. And also in professional packaging of 15-25 kg, which will cost much less.

When purchasing, you should pay attention to the fact that the clay is sealed in vacuum packaging. The fact is that in production it is mixed by special mechanisms in such a way that air bubbles do not get into the composition. This is very important: the presence of such bubbles in the texture of the finished product will contribute to its fragility. Vacuum packing in in this case will serve as a guarantee of the quality of the purchased material.

2. Natural clay.

Clay can also be taken from natural environment- dig in the garden (if there are shallow places), on a steep river bank. But such clay is not yet suitable for work: it contains a lot of coarse impurities, due to which, when the material dries, it will crumble.

To clean the clay from them, it needs to be put into a bucket, filled with warm water, mixed well and left overnight. By morning, all the heavy dirt will settle to the bottom. The fatty top layer must be removed from the surface of the water, drained thoroughly, air dried to the desired consistency, kneading periodically, and stored until use.

Storage rules

• Clay should not lose moisture. To do this, it must be wrapped in a damp rag and placed in a plastic bag.
• The ideal place for storage is the shelf of the refrigerator or (if there is a lot of clay) a cool, dark basement.
• Periodically, the clay must be opened and ventilated so that it does not become moldy.

Available materials for modeling

• Metal string. It is great for separating the part that will be needed for work from a large piece of clay. The string should be of medium thickness: a thin one can easily injure your hands.
• Special knife to separate small pieces of material. It is best to take a blade from an old kitchen knife and wrap it in the handle area with insulating tape.
  You should not take the blade from stationery knives(for cutting paper) or construction. Their blades will quickly rust when working with clay. In addition, they are too thin and therefore too sharp - they are easy to cut.
  Do not use plastic knives. Their blades do not make a sharp, even cut, but seem to press through the clay. The knife must be well sharpened.
• Wooden boards different sizes, on which you will have to roll out pieces of clay.
• Wooden rolling pin for rolling.
• Rough textured fabrics, with relief patterns that would be well imprinted on the clay when it was rolled out on such a fabric.
• Can be purchased set of stacks for modeling.

• All kinds stationery stuff. Simply: the trash that we usually throw away when cleaning up our desks: marker caps, used ballpoint pen refills, glue tube caps and other little things. The surface of some of these seemingly unnecessary things can leave very interesting imprints on the clay when pressed. Even popsicle sticks and lollipop sticks can be used!
• Household sponge, which is usually used in the kitchen for washing dishes. To make it more convenient to work with, the sponge should be cut into 4 parts.

Smoothing out unevenness with a damp sponge

Firing clay works

It is known that the finished work will need to be fired. And it reaches readiness at a firing temperature of 850-900 degrees. It is in this temperature range that clay turns into ceramics.

Process high temperatures Only a well-dried product can be used, otherwise, if wet, it may explode in the oven.

It follows from this that neither the ovens of home gas or electric stoves, nor microwave ovens are suitable for this purpose.

But there is a way out here, too, if you really want to engage in this type of creativity. Good, modern technologies allow us to offer a wide variety of product options. In this case, you should simply buy clay that does not require firing in the store.

Artisanal firing

This is another alternative option for working with clay without having a muffle furnace at your disposal. You can try firing clay at home - in a fire. The temperature of the fire in it rises to an average of 750 degrees. In order for the clay to turn into ceramics (and the ideal temperature for this is 850-900 degrees), you will have to keep it in the fire longer than in a muffle furnace, and at the same time constantly maintain the heat.

You should dig a shallow hole in the ground, put a figurine in it, put a fire on top and keep it burning for at least 8-10 hours. The longer it is fired, the stronger and better quality the product will be.

Quality of the finished product

It can be easily identified by the sound made when tapping the burnt figurine. If the sound is ringing, everything went well, if it is dull, little time was allocated for firing.

Techniques for decorating finished clay products

In principle, the finished work does not need to be painted or covered with anything. The clay itself looks dignified and rich.
On the contrary, unskillful painting can easily spoil a clay product and devalue it. If you cover a large surface of the figurine with paint, it will look like an ordinary plastic doll that came out of a factory container, which will significantly reduce the artistic value of the work.

Eat Golden Rule when applying paint to clay products: it (regardless of which one) needs to cover only individual fragments. And the painted surface should occupy no more than 5-7% of the entire area of ​​the figure.

It is advisable to use colors in shades close to “clay” - straw, brown, muted red, brick, etc.

If you plan to use any other materials when decorating, preference should be given to natural ones. For example, it is better to make the hair of a doll from natural flax hemp.

Coloring

To paint clay, you can use acrylic paints or gouache.

• Acrylic paints preferable. After drying, they do not need to be secured in any way.
• Gouache It’s cheaper and easier for children to work with. However, this paint is water-soluble; if it gets wet, it will spread. In addition, it gets dirty when you have to touch the painted surface with your hands. After the gouache has dried, it is recommended (to secure it) to cover it with PVA glue.

The most effective way to process ready product special acrylic varnish from the sprayer. Automotive paints of various shades close to the color of clay are also used for this purpose.

Milk milking (milk roasting)

Our ancestors used this technique. And, by the way, only our ancestors! Nowhere on other continents, in other countries, was the milking technique used.

Ceramics were processed in milk not only to make pots and bowls look more attractive, but also for practical effect. The fact is that tiny voids remain in the baked clay, into which air and moisture then enter. They slowly destroy the product from the inside. Milk seals the voids and covers the product with a thick film.

Operating procedure

1.The product must be dipped entirely in milk. It’s better, of course, to use natural cow’s milk, but a store-bought product will also work. Important to remember:

• The fat content of milk should be no more than 2.5%;
• Milk made from dry concentrate is not suitable for roasting.

2.The product should be kept in milk from 2-3 to 7-10 minutes, but no longer. The less you bathe, the thinner it will be protective film. But if you wait too long, the coating runs the risk of peeling off from the clay during firing.

If you add a little sugar to the milk, after firing the product will acquire a nice reddish tint.

3.Before firing, the work must be dried. Otherwise, the coating will crack and peel off.

4. It is better to fire in a muffle furnace at a temperature of 300-40 degrees. But, as a last resort, a regular oven in a gas or electric stove at the highest possible temperature (usually 260-280 degrees) will do. When processing ceramics, they do not like sudden changes in temperature, so it is better to place the product in a cold oven. For the same reason, you should not open the stove (oven) wide open during firing, just open it a little to be able to monitor the progress of the process. The firing time is several hours, it all depends on the final desired color of the clay surface. The longer you keep it, the darker it will be: up to a rich chocolate color.

You should not purchase pottery that you plan to use for food purposes from unfamiliar craftsmen. Among them there are also unscrupulous ones who imitate the classic milking technique... by applying shoe polish. The figurine is polished with it, then rubbed with a dry cloth, the darker color remains only in the recesses and folds. An ignorant person will not immediately determine by external signs exactly how the dishes were decorated. But after, for example, milk is poured into it, it will be easy to determine by the dirty-colored liquid formed on its surface and by the characteristic chemical smell.

If this happens, do not throw away the product. Take it to a reliable craftsman so that he can process it using the milking technique for real and then burn it. Then the dishes can be safely used for storing food.

Smoke (blackening)

This is also a fairly ancient way of decorating clay products. After treatment with it, in addition to water resistance, the dishes receive another amazing property: they become a dark gray metallic color. At a time when metal plates, cups, and place settings on the table were a sign of luxury and wealth, and not everyone could afford to buy one, it was imitated by blackened ceramics.

Professionals use the most various methods blackening. They are quite complex, labor-intensive, and without experience and sufficient skills it is not easy to repeat them.

For an experiment in artisanal conditions ( just not in an apartment, it will smoke too much!) you can try smoking in pine or spruce sawdust.

The burned product must be removed from the oven with tongs and placed in a metal container with dry small sawdust from coniferous trees. Sprinkle more sawdust on top and cover tightly with a metal lid. Leave for several hours.

The method is risky: Products often crack due to temperature changes.

Rubbing technique (folk economy option)

A fired clay product can be wiped with a soft sponge generously soaked in brown gouache. The paint will “get stuck” in the corners, joints, and folds, adding style to the work.

A similar effect can be achieved by dipping a clay figurine into an aqueous solution of organic fertilizer - peat oxidate (proportions for dilution in water 1:1).

It must be remembered that in the last two ways, in no case should not be decorated clay products that are then planned to be used for food purposes(pour drinks into them, put food in them.)

After the above-described treatments, re-firing is not required.

Recorded by Lilia Lee.

And in addition to general rules working with clay Evgeniya Afonasenko prepared for our readers 4 master classes on sculpting interesting crafts.

And a very promising topic Clay crafting. Which not only allows you to keep your hands busy, but also has a positive effect on a person’s well-being, sense of self, and internal balance. It can also help you make money.

Classes applied arts in general, they always have a very positive impact on human development, reveal it Creative skills, develop fine motor skills fingers (and therefore thinking), eye, sense of color and shape - and these are precisely the qualities that are very necessary in life. In addition, it has long been known that the best gift is homemade goods made by yourself. Even if it’s not exactly a masterpiece, it’s naive, sincere, and that makes it even more dear to family and friends.

As this kind of homemade product, you can use any small object that is in the baby’s field of vision: household “trifles” - nuts, wire, nails, eggshells and, of course, natural materials - wood, pebbles, leaves. Separately, we can note the topic of our article - clay modeling, as the most fully providing a person with space to realize his creative fantasies, in fact, an ideal opportunity for do-it-yourself crafts.

Modeling with clay means that you can shape it natural material any shape you want: from clay you can create figures of animals, cars, houses, even entire toy cities. By the way, clay is the oldest construction material humanity and, quite possibly, the construction functions of clay were noticed by people precisely when observing children playing, creating various homemade products with their own hands on the banks of rivers.

Clay is a secondary product of the earth's crust, sedimentary rock, formed as a result of the destruction of rocks during the weathering process. Clay can be different - red, blue, white, yellow. Its color is affected by the addition of other minerals. Clay can be purchased ready-made or in powder form. If possible, you can find natural clay, but not every one is suitable for work and requires long and careful preparation.

Important - if you want your products to be used IMMEDIATELY without firing - use clay with polymer additives

Before sculpting, the clay must be thoroughly kneaded with your hands, and then beaten by tapping it in your palms. In this way, you can get rid of most of the air to prevent the product from rupturing during firing (if you fire your products).

You should work with both hands. This will allow you to simultaneously design the right and left sides of the product, helping to more organically connect everything into a single whole. To help your hands for sculpting, you need to use special tools - stacks.

As a rule, work begins with the largest part of the product, gradually moving to smaller ones.

Before completing the work, the product is “smoothed” with a damp sponge, rag or brush.

What options are there for clay modeling?

You can create a figure from a single piece of clay by stretching and shaping it as required. Using simple techniques of pressing, pinching and pulling, traditional clay figures, for example, folk whistle toys, are created.

1. You can cut a figure out of clay using special tools (stacks). Then the piece of clay should be dense enough and slightly hardened so that it does not fall apart in your hands.
2. You can create a product using a plaster mold into which clay is poured, dissolved in water until it becomes a homogeneous mass.
3. If you want to create a clay craft according to a shape (for example, make a vase from a cast of an existing vessel), use plastic film. You need to wrap the vessel with it before sticking a clay base around it. After the clay dries, the film is easily peeled off, and you are left with a finished form.
4. There is also relief modeling, when a pattern of any complexity is stuck onto rolled out clay.

A type of relief modeling is carving a design onto a surface.

How to sculpt from clay correctly?

Always remember that clay is not plasticine. This material is much stronger, but it also needs to be handled more carefully. Remember a few simple rules:

1. Firstly, modeling clay should always be damp. Therefore, after completing the work, cover the mass with a damp cloth, not allowing it to dry out.
2. Secondly, during the sculpting process, always smooth out any cracks that appear with water or a water-clay mixture.
3. When creating a clay craft, start by modeling larger parts, and then attach smaller ones to them.
4. Remember that you should not roll foreign parts into wet clay, such as pieces of wire, metal or wooden legs, etc. It’s better to make indentations for them and place them on glue after drying the product.

Using buttons, clothespins, magnets or pins you can make a ceramic refrigerator magnet, brooch or creative earrings.

What to do with the figure after sculpting - if you do not use polymer clay?

All sorts of things The clay product needs to be dried before spending time with him further work. It is better to dry clay crafts in plastic bag. Don't rush things and let it sit for at least a couple of days. To determine whether a craft is ready, examine it carefully: a dry clay product is much lighter than a wet one and a little lighter.

After the craft has dried, you can further dry it in the oven or microwave.

To make a clay product more durable, it is fired. Doing this at home is quite problematic, but if you have a stove in your country house or village, you can burn a figurine in it. To do this, place the dried (!) craft for some time in a not too hot oven away from the burning coals.

Also, a clay product can be fired at a fire. To do this, either place it in a tin can, or place it on the surface of a brick or stone, then cover it on all sides with burning logs and gradually burn it. Remember that firing should always be uniform, and Clay cracks due to sudden temperature changes!

Before painting a clay product, apply a layer of regular white enamel to it. It dries quickly and creates an even base for painting.

Upon completion of painting, apply regular PVA to the clay figurine in an even layer. When the glue dries, you will have a beautiful, shiny and durable clay product in your hands! It is done!

More details: website about clay and working with it - http://glina.teploruk.ru/

Happy creativity!