Flower Sculpture with Clay

Creating flowers with clay can produce some amazing result that can add a permanent floral addition to your home or are perfect as a thank you gift that will last forever.

There is an endless list of flowers that can be created and the more practice and experimentation the better your skills will be. There are lots of different types of clay that are perfect for flower sculpting. This post offers a few examples of the types of flowers that can be made with cold porcelain clay and stone based air dry clay using, a variety of techniques and tools.

Clay Work with Oven Hardening Clay

Oven hardening clay is a very versatile modelling material that is hardened by baking. This clay is a man-made material that will not dry out when exposed to air for a long period of time, but bakes at a fairly low temperature to a hard, often pliable surface that can be painted and decorated. The most popular heat-cured clay's are the polymer clay.

Polymer clay's are oil-based and therefore must be heated to cure, however, a home oven can be used and a kiln is not required. The baking process varies with each brand so it is always important to check the packaging instructions for each clay. To give you a rough idea, Fimo recommend you bake the clay at 110*C/230*F for 30 minutes. This will also depend on the size and thickness of the clay creation.

Oven Thermometers
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 It is a very good idea to purchase a oven thermometer because if the clay isn't baked properly it could burn or be brittle when cooled. This is a much quicker process than air dry clay, which usually
takes at least 24 hours to dry. Polymer clay will be plastic like, waterproof and very durable if cured properly. Polymer clay does not harden completely until it is cool so will feel soft to touch when it is taken out of the oven.

Another positive factor for oven baked clay is that it comes in a wide range of colours and effects. This is great if you don't want to paint your creations or you are making a specific creation that needs a certain surface effect such as marbling or granite. If you do want to paint the clay after it has been baked then acrylic paints are one of the best to use, although your clay creation will need to be varnished once the paints dry, in order to protect it.

Clay Work With Air Dry Clay

Air drying products are now starting to be taken seriously by professional artist and it is no longer seen as just for schools and children. This is clear by the vast amount of fabulous creations and tutorials available. It’s great for adult crafts and professional sculptors, as well as kids and teen crafts.

Unlike traditional clay's that need to be fired in a kiln at a high temperature, or polymer clay's that need to be cured in an oven air dry clay is a mainly water based, which is simply clay mixed with water. It therefore cures in the open air at room temperature, so must be kept in an air tight container when not in use. It is usually inexpensive and it is generally very easy to use and pliable.