Clay crafts

On 6 December 2010, we made some crafts with clay. I had a lot of clay in my house, as I use it for clay therapy workshops and private sessions with my clients. I used to get the kids to make stuff with clay, but it hadn't occurred to me that I could paint it and "preserve" it with lacquer.

I recently read in an art activity book that we could paint the clay with PVA glue mixed with a little bit of water. I bought the PVA glue, and tried painting on a painted clay models, and it did work. It was shiny.

Later on, I looked into my store room and found that I had clear lacquer. That was even better. I sprayed clear lacquer on the clay and it turned shiny and waterproof. It stopped being chalky.

However, for clay models to last, it must be fired in a kiln. I didn't send mine to be fired. I just let it harden and be air-dried under the sun. Because they were not fired, some parts came off and some got broken due to the rough handling of my children. I glued back some of the parts with construction glue. It reminded me of the Tibetan sand art. Spending hours and hourse to make a beautiful artwork with sand and later "destroy" it, thus reflecting the impermanence and transient nature of things - lots of Dharma practice here. Anyway, the kids enjoyed the process of making and especially painting the models.

Drying the clay models in the sun and the painted clay models

Making and painting the clay models