Over the past few years, store shelves have been filled with all kinds of sculpting kits. Against their background, clay crafts are no longer so popular. But this natural material has been known since the X century. To tell your child about traditions and at the same time save on handicraft material, mold a clay caterpillar toy with him.
It is necessary
Clay, oilcloth, water container, acrylic paints, brush, toothpick
Instructions
Step 1
Choose your clay. It can be bought ready-made, already painted in different colors, in small packages. Such material can only be kneaded before use. Another option is to buy dry blue clay and knead it. It is better to do this in advance, about a week before sculpting. Dissolve the powder in a glass or ceramic container, gradually adding water until the mixture resembles a thick dough. It should not stick to your hands, but at the same time remain quite plastic. Leave the prepared clay for several days, wrapped in a damp cloth and polyethylene, in a dark place (away from heating devices).
Step 2
Cover the surface of the work table with oilcloth. Put clay on it and knead thoroughly. Break the mass into small pieces and put it back together, throw it on the table and beat it off with a mallet or rolling pin. This is necessary in order to remove impurities (stones, debris) and air bubbles from the mass.
Step 3
Take a lump of clay the size of a large orange. Moisten your hands with water (the container with it should be on the worktable) and pull the mass along. Then mentally divide it into 5-6 equal parts. Use your fingers to press on the separation points, but do not tear. Using pulling movements, alternately form the oval body parts of the caterpillar. Always wet your fingers with water and make sure that there are no irregularities on the surface of the clay. Do not make the transitions from one element to another too thin, so that the mass does not break when drying.
Step 4
On the underside of each track segment, make two parallel “tucks”. These are the legs of our heroine. Their length must be the same to make the figurine stable. When all legs are formed, place the caterpillar on a table and press down lightly.
Step 5
Using a toothpick, you can squeeze out any pattern on the surface of the toy that imitates the coloring of real caterpillars. To make the similarity not frighteningly realistic, use the same toothpick to draw a muzzle on the caterpillar's head.
Step 6
Moisten your fingers or a paintbrush with water and once again go over the entire surface of the toy, smoothing out irregularities and covering cracks. On the underside, in inconspicuous places, make several holes with a thin needle - this will reduce the likelihood of cracking of the clay.
Step 7
Leave the product to dry at room temperature in a dark place away from heat sources. After a week and a half, put the toy in the oven, leave the door ajar and dry the caterpillar, gradually (!) Increasing the temperature. It will be possible to take it out only after it has completely cooled down.
Step 8
You can paint a dry toy with porous acrylic paints.
