Clay is a naturally occurring substance in nature. It is constantly formed on the earth’s surface as a result of the weathering of a very common type of rock known as Feldspar. Feldspar, from which clay is formed, is the mineral name for a family of compounds that results from a chemical bond between Silica, Alumina, and one of three different metals (Potassium, Sodium or Lithium). This rock occurs in great quantities and its exposure to air and water changes it over a period of time into clay. There are many variations of clay for example Kaolin, stoneware, fire clay etc. In this article we will see how to make clay.
There are two recipes to make clay easily.
The first recipe is great for beads and decorative material as it can be hardened later by baking it in an oven. Ingredients required for this recipe:
- 8 cups of flour (preferably all purpose flour)
- 2 cups of salt
- 3 cups of water
- A big bowl
- A large bowl
- Wooden spoon
- Oven
- A non stick baking sheet
Method:
Pour all your ingredients into the large bowl and keep mixing until it develops the desired consistency. Now give it the shape of your choice. For example to make beads make small round balls of clay. Pierce it with a needle. Make the hole a little bigger as clay will expand when baked and cause the gap to close up. When you are ready place your sculpture or whatever the piece of art is on the non stick baking sheet. Set the heat of your oven to 350 degrees and bake the clay for about an hour depending on the size. When the mixture begins to develop a light brownish tint you can take it out of the oven. Allow this completed clay to cool completely before painting or decorating it.
The second recipe is great for kids to play with. This clay will pretty much feel like store brought clay. Ingredients required for this recipe:
- 7 cups of flour (again preferably all purpose flour)
- 1 cup of salt
- 2 table spoon of cream of tarter
- 5 table spoon of oil
- 4 cups of water
- large mixing bowl
- a pot for boiling water
- wooden spoon
- food colorings of your choice (optional, but can make the clay look pretty and especially appealing to little kids)
Method:
Boil water in the pot and add several drops of food coloring. Take the water of the heat and mix in the oil. Put all the dry ingredients in the large bowl. Now slowly and steadily add the colored water and oil mixture in the bowl. Stir and mix the ingredients throughly using the wooden spoon. Let the mixture cool. Once cool kneed it till it has a nice thick consistency like that a clay gotten from stores. This clay can be stored in an air tight container indefinitely. This clay can also be used to make permanent artifacts and beads and sculptures. To dry and harden this clay it must be air-dried by leaving it out for a long time or by using a blow dryer. Once it is dry it can be painted and decorated. To achieve multiple colors follow the same process using different food colorings every time.