Tag: Air dry clay tutorial

What is Air Dry Clay?

Air dry clay is simply clay that dries in the air. Air dry clay does not need to be baked in the oven or fired in a kiln.

Air dry clay dries rock hard in the air. It hardens through the process of evaporation. There are many types of air dry clay! In the next post I will give you ten types of air dry clay.

Here is a short video I made:

https://youtube.com/shorts/rBVj2Huvv5w?feature=share

6 Ingredients you need to buy make Diy Air Dry Clay/Cold Porcelain Clay

Here are the ingredients you will need to make diy air dry clay/cold porcelain clay and why to buy these particular ingredients.

  1. Elmer’s glue all glue (Do not washable school glue)
  2. Corn starch or corn flour (Do not use corn masa)
  3. Lemon Juice Concentrate
  4. Mineral oil or baby oil
  5. Dry face cream from pond’s or equate
  6. White Acrylic Craft paint

I also made a YouTube video:

How to prevent air dry clay/cold porcelain clay from clogging your drain

Air dry clay/cold porcelain clay is made out of glue and corn starch.

Did you know that dumping glue and corn starch down the drain can clog your drain and cause plumbing problems? When the cornstarch and glue settle at the bottom of your pipes it turns to cement.

Ptofessor amos cleaning products wrote this:

“If placed down your drain, they will be exposed to water and will become large and sticky. Then, they will cling to your pipes and form a clog. Similar to pasta and rice, flour, cornstarch and oatmeal tend to get gummy when wet. They become like cement, blocking your pipes and resulting in a plumbing emergency.Oct 30, 2019
Seven Foods That Will Destroy Your Drain – Professor Amoshttps://www.professoramos.com/seven-foods-will-destroy-drain/

This is a good tip to know! So avoid plumbing problems! Dump waste water outside not down your drain

Here is a YouTube video I made:

11 things to buy at grocery store to work with clay

I have worked with Polymer clay and cold porcelain clay for years. It is amazing the amount of supplies that one really does use. The other day I made a list of eleven things that I buy at the Grocery Store.

  1. Plastic Bread Bags
  2. Zippered Gallon-sized freezer bags
  3. Plastic cling wrap
  4. Aluminum foil
  5. Parchment paper
  6. Dawn dish soap
  7. Toothpicks
  8. Corn starch (food grade)
  9. Cooking oil–if working with store bought clay
  10. Lemon juice–for cold porcelain clay
  11. Food Color–for cold porcelain

Tell me what you use when you make and work with clay!

Five things to buy at local drug store to work with clay

I have made a list of five things I buy at the local drug store to work with Air Dry Clay/Cold Porcelain Clay. Here is the list of things you can buy at Walmart, Amazon, or your local drug store.

  1. Ponds dry facial cream. Walmart brand is Equate Facial Cream.
  2. 91% Isopropyl Alcohol. Alcohol helps break bond of Elmer’s Glue-All.
  3. Baby Oil or Mineral Oil
  4. Vaseline or Petroleum Jelly
  5. Baby Wipes

You need seven kitchen tools to make air dry clay

To make your own DIY air dry clay/cold porcelain clay you are going to have to gather your kitchen tools. Personally I like to have dedicated tools just for my art. Here is the list of seven kitchen tools you will need to buy:

  1. A glass cutting board
  2. A pan/pot
  3. Measuring cups
  4. Measuring spoons
  5. A specialty bakers spatula that goes up to 450 degrees
  6. Bowl or container for mixing ingredients
  7. A metal pancake turner or razor blade to clean up.

CAN AIR DRY CLAY GROW MOLD?

I answered this question ‘can air dry clay grow mold?’ after I discovered mold growing on my clay when I tightly wrapped it in plastic without turning it over and checking on it.

So the answer to this question is Yes, air dry clay/cold porcelain clay can grow mold.

Why does air dry clay mold? Air dry clay can mold if it is exposed to moist, humid conditions. Water and moisture is the enemy of air dry clay. Moisture provides the perfect breeding ground for mold to thrive and grow.

I was able to use lemon juice and a paper towel on my sculpture so all was not lost.

Here is a video I made.

Have you ever had your clay mold and how did you address it?

Let me know by commenting below!

Featured Post

Why does Air Dry Clay Crack?/How to fix cracked air dry clay

This post is about a common problem that occurs with all types air dry clay. It answers the question Why does air dry clay crack and shows you how to fix cracked air dry clay.

Did you know it is perfectly normal for air dry clay to crack as it dries?

There are four reasons why air dry clay cracks and there is a very simple solution to fix cracked air dry clay.

First I will discuss Why air dry clay cracks then I will tell you how to fix cracked air dry clay.

Why does clay crack?

The first reason why clay cracks is because of the process of evaporation.

Water evaporates out of the clay as it dries. The clay hardens and as it hardens, the clay shrinks and it can causes clay to crack.

The second reason air dry cracks is if it is not conditioned properly. If clay is too dry, or too wet or too sticky it can cause cracking.

The third reason clay cracks is because the clay is too thin. Thinner pieces always dry faster than thicker pieces. Being too thin is a common reason why clay cracks as it dries.

My suggestion is to use armature like toothpick or wire for thin pieces.

Finally, if the clay is too thick it can cause cracking. This occurs because clay dries on the outside first and is it still wet on the inside.

My suggestion is to make your piece no thicker than a fourth of an inch thick. Use a pencil or tool to make your sculpture hallow on the inside.

How to fix cracked air dry clay:

Fixing air dry clay is an easy six part process.

1. Take a lump of clay

2. Fill in the crack. If you are using water-based earth clay, make a slip by adding a little water to your clay and then fill the crack in.

3. Smooth it out as much as possible and

4. Allow piece to air dry.

5. Sand if necessary after it dries!

6. Glaze it with water-based polyurethane

The following Youtube video is an excerpt of this article.

Part 1: Why does air dry clay crack?

Part 2: How to fixed cracked air dry clay starts at 02:16

Please like, follow, and tell me how you fix your clay!