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Artists have used clay since the dawn of man. Fortunately today, clay no longer consists of a lump of mud taken from the local river. Modern clay and modeling materials are quality, refined products.
In addition to earthen clay, many modeling materials are now synthetic, allowing the artist to expand their technique with modern colors, textures and finishes.
There are two general types of clay and modeling material: Hardening Clay – the kind used to make vessels, figurines, plaques, etc. This type of clay hardens by kiln firing, oven baking or air-drying. The end result being a solid, hard, dry material with varying levels of durability.
Non-hardening Clay –malleable, allowing the artist to reuse the material again and again. Non-hardening clay can be used for Claymation, figure studies for larger, permanent pieces, for mould making, and simply for recreation.
Hardening Clay
As mentioned earlier, this type of clay hardens in one of three ways:
Kiln Fired – requires special equipment to harden, and is the type used by many fine ceramicists. Kiln Fired clays produce the most durable end product Oven Baked – most hobbyists and students will require clay they can fire at home. Not as durable as Kiln Fired clay, but more durable than most Air-Dried clays Air Dry – the simplest hardening clay to use, but also tends to create the least durable end product
How often will you be working with this clay? Someone who uses clay occasionally should buy smaller amounts of clay at a time, to keep the unused clay from drying out.
What will you be creating with your clay? Figurines and other art pieces may be made of a less durable clay than items that will receive a lot of wear, such as vases, tableware, mugs, etc.
Non-hardening Clay
For someone who doesn’t require a permanent application, or where flexibility is needed, non-hardening clay is the right choice.
Let’s look at some of the applications of non-hardening clay:
Claymation – animation artists use non-hardening clay to create their Claymation figures. The flexibility, low cost and ease of reshaping make non-hardening clay ideal. And the bright colors contribute to Claymation as well. After all, Gumby just wouldn’t be the same if he weren’t made from a little green slab of non-hardening clay!
Mould making – stiffer non-hardening clays make great moulds for plaster of Paris, polymer and cement castings. The stiffer the non-hardening clay mould, the more detail achieved in the finished casting. Non-hardening clay can be employed either as a reverse mould, or as the original sculpture from which a reverse mould is made.
School Projects and Children’s Art - inexpensive, brightly colored and non-toxic non-hardening clay is perfect for creating volcanoes for science class, or for allowing children to express themselves artistically.
Clay Basics
With all the different clays we carry, how do you know which clay works best for each purpose? This chart will help:
Hardening Clay | Brand | Use | Celluclay Celluclay II (air-dry) | Instant papier mache, for crafts, masks, etc. | Rigid Wrap (air-dry) | Instant papier mache in rolls, conforms to any shape or armature form. Masks, jewelry, etc. | Instamold (air-dry) | Instant mould-making compound. Makes numerous copies with resin, wax, plaster casting compound | Das Pronto (air-dry) | Figures, sculpture. Once dry, can be decorated, painted, and sealed with a clear varnish | Sculptamold (air-dry) | Dry casting compound sets in 30 minutes after adding water. Mix and place into a mould made of Instamold or stiff non-hardening clay | Marbelex (air-dry or kiln-fired) | Grey, moist clay for sculpting and pottery | Mexican Potter Clay (air-dry or kiln-fired) | Rich red clay, similar in color to terra cotta. Sculpting and pottery | Sculpey III (oven-bake) | Colored polymer clay. For jewelry and miniatures | Sculpey III Granitex (oven-bake) | Polymer clay in granite-tone colors. For jewelry and miniatures where the look of stone is desired | Super Sculpey (oven-bake) | Light pink modeling clay that bakes to a hard, shatter and chip resistant finish. For miniatures, jewelry and doll heads and hands. | Sculpey Modeling Compound (oven-bake) | Polymer porcelain-like clay in white and terra cotta colors. For pottery, art ceramics, jewelry | Non-Hardening Clay | Brand | Use | Claytoon | Modeling clay designed for Claymation and flexible figure making. Also for children’s play use | Plastalina Modeling Clay | Oil-based modeling compound, mixable to achieve tints, tones and intermediate hues. For sculpture, model making, Claymation, and can be melted and poured into a mould. May be reused over and over. |
Working With Clay
Clay may be modeled, sculpted, or thrown. Let’s look at each method:
Modeling – by piecing together smaller units of clay, or by coiling clay, artists can create figures, pottery and art ceramics. Any type of clay can be modeled.
Sculpting – by using special tools and their hands, artists can create figures, busts, doll heads, miniatures, etc from a lump of stiff hardening or non-hardening clay.
Throwing – using a potter’s wheel, an artist can form a lump of clay into round-shaped pottery and art ceramics, such as bowls, vases, cups, plates, etc. Only hardening clay specifically designed for the wheel will work for this.
Any of these techniques can be combined. For example: and artist may sculpt the body of a thrown vase to create a filigree pattern along the rim. Or an artist may sculpt a head, then model the ears onto it by applying additional clay.
In addition to the hands, many artists employ a series of tools to enhance their clay creations.
Cutting Tools – to cut slabs of clay into workable pieces, and for bold sculpting
Sculpting Tools – for fine detail when sculpting
Shaping Tools – ribs and sponges for smoothing, shaping, trimming and curving wet clay on the potter’s wheel
Calipers – for accurate measure, transferring measurements from the model to the clay and to measure thickness and diameter. Features and Benefits of Clay: Items | Features | Benefits | Hardening Clay | Hardens thru kiln-firing, air-drying or baking | Makes a permanent vessel, figure, or art piece. May be glazed | Non-hardening Clay | Never hardens, always pliable | Makes re-positionable figures for claymation, economical and reusable | Plastalina | Stiff, non-hardening modeling clay | Stiff texture holds detail for mould-making | Casting Compound | Dry compound mixed with water and poured into a mould | Easy to use and lasts indefinitely in dry state, makes detailed moulds | Claytoon | Non-hardening modeling clay in bright colors | Wide array of colors for Claymation artists, fun for kids and can be re-used | Kiln-fired Clay | Harder than air-dried or oven-baked clay | Makes the hardest, most water resistant vessels | Air-dry Clay | Easy to harden, no special equipment or heat required | Great for kids as no heat is required to set, easy to use and clean up | Oven-baked Clay | Harder than air dried clay, no special equipment needed | Easy to use, more quickly setting than kiln or oven baked clay | Papier Mache | Lightweight air-drying modeling medium, conforms to many shaped surfaces | Allows quick forming over surfaces and armatures, so art can be created quickly. |
Glossary Air dry | Clay that hardens with exposure to the atmosphere. The least durable of hardening clays | Kiln dry | Clay that requires firing at high temperature in a kiln. The most durable of hardening clays | Oven bake | Clay that hardens at oven temperatures in the home | Polymer clay | Non-earthen clay used primarily for jewelry making and miniatures. Oven-baked | Claymation | Animation using stop-action filming and clay figures | Papier mache | A ground-paper based modeling compound that activates with water and dries lightweight and paintable | Caliper | A two-pronged tool used to measure thickness of clay, and to transfer thicknesses from model to clay | Rib | A flat wooden or plastic tool for shaping clay while spinning on the potter’s wheel | Coiling | The method of forming clay vessels by rolling out long coils of clay and wrapping one on top of the other | Throwing | The method of forming clay vessels by spinning and shaping a lump of clay on a potter’s wheel | Potter’s wheel | A horizontal wheel that spins at a variable speed, allowing an artist to shape a lump of clay as it spins | Stoneware | A form of hardening clay, used to make vessels. Stoneware is usually thrown on the potter’s wheel, accepts glaze well, and kiln-fired to moderate strength | Porcelain
| A form of hardening clay, used to make vessels. Porcelain is usually thrown on the potter’s wheel, accepts glaze well, and kiln-fired to a higher strength than stoneware |
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Clay Tools
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