I had to share this fabulous find... kiln-free clay! It is a high quality, smooth clay that is very easy to work with. (it feels like regular clay that I've used in the past) . It's leather hard in 24 hours and 'all dry' after several days depending on temperature, humidity and thickness. I bought it at the local art supply store.
Mostly I was thinking of Christmas ornaments and stamping my smaller woodblocks into it for mini-wall art. If you love to work with clay but don't have a kiln or access to one... this is a great alternative! You can paint it with acrylics and who knows what else. I'm preparing to experiment. It is not waterproof, though and you have to use a commercial water sealant for that - so, decorative use only. (no, I don't work for Laguna... I just tend to get overly excited about the possibilities of newly discovered medias!)
I got a wild hair yesterday and decided to make something with the air-dry clay. Of course this person is not finished and maybe not even 'a keeper' but I'm going to experiment on him! I plan on painting him and trying out different media and finishing 'varnishes' (in other words - to seal it somehow.) It was so much fun doodling around with the clay. I think I have 'art ADD' lately... not sure why. But, I need to re-gain focus to complete the Christmas stuff on my list. It may have been a bad idea to buy that clay because it's got me laying awake thinking about what I could do with it!
