Having Fun with Baked Clay Art
Kids often love to shape, make and bake clay people, animals, ornaments, and more; however, this can be made into a higher level, especially for creative people with passion for art. With the availability nowadays of oven-bake clays, the hobby of shaping things in clay has become more enjoyable and more fun than ever.
The material they use is Polymer clay. This type of clay does not technically contain clay. Instead, it has polymers similar to PVC, with liquids added to make it moldable. It hardens usually in an oven over low heat, like in your oven toaster. It comes in 12 great colors.
Self-hardening clay is exactly what it sounds like. You mold it, set it aside, and let it harden over the course of several days. Unlike modeling clays, which are oil- or wax-based, polymer clays are water-based, resinous, self-hardening clays. Fine art clays are usually exactly like self-hardening clays, except that they use high-quality clay and add only water.
For polymer clay, you bake and oven-harden the clay in a regular kitchen oven. A piece of wax paper is set on top of a baking sheet, cutting it so that it matches the inside dimensions of the sheet. Most polymer or oven-based clays will harden after they are cooked at 265 °F (129 °C) to 275 °F (135 °C) for 15 minutes per 1 4 inch (6.4 mm) of thickness. Afterwards, the baking sheet is removed from the oven, and placed on a heat-resistant surface. The clay sculpture is then permitted to cool at room temperature before removing. The clay sculptures are then hand painted. Polymer clay is available in toy stores in most of the shopping malls in Metro Manila. Brands include Fimo, Premo, Kato, Cernit, and Sculpey.
With these materials, clay sculptures and art can be created and preserved. In fact, these fun creatures are actually not difficult to make. It just needs practice and patience. It can also be a source of motivation and model for your art. With it, you may start your own sculptured collection. The things you create can be made into various items like keychains, bracelets, earings, decorations, action minifigures, or items for scrapbooks. They are great to give as gifts, as a start of a small business or just to add them to your shelf containing box together with other precious art pieces.
My teenage pamangkin, Iya Lim, had just opened a small gallery of her creations using baked clay art at Facebook, named DragonitaVioleta. Supported by her parents, who are both artists, her skills has gone a long way. As you will see, there is a lot of potential for this art form. This will help talented art-oriented children to develop their skill and make their creations into an interesting and useful product.