Clay Sculpture Ideas

There are many clay sculpture ideas one can choose from, for your school project, college term work or just for fun. Clay sculptures are popular among children. They enjoy creating different shapes and forms out of clay. Children can handle clay with ease and thus, pour their creativity in these sculptures.

What is Clay

The tiny particles that are obtained as a result of the weathering process of rocks form a substance known as clay. Clay has been used in the preparation of sculptures for a long time. The most common application of clay sculptures that we see in our daily lives, are the clay pots and other earthenware. One can create many decorative designs and items from clay.

Clay Sculpture Ideas

Different ideas can be applied in preparing clay sculptures. Nowadays, most of the clay making takes place in art schools and colleges. With the traditional occupation of clay making left with no takers, these schools do a good job in preserving the rich tradition of clay sculpting. Different ideas can be tried out and experimented in the field of clay sculpting. Clay animal sculptures are especially popular among children.

How to Make Clay Sculptures
Generally, for any kind of clay sculpture, the first thing one should do is to prepare a framework that supports the structure and shape of the sculpture. The framework of these sculptures is commonly created with the help of aluminum wires. The clay used for making sculptures is mostly polymer clay. Other than just clay and the materials used to build the framework for sculptures, one can use different sculpture clay tools to prepare various sculptures.

Pottery
It is the art of making pots and different types of containers from clay. Mineral clay is used in the preparation of pots. The pots are made purely by hand without using any other tools. One can shape the pot in various ways. Clay coils are used in the decoration of pots. Coils are slender and snake-like shapes of clay. After the desired shape is given to the pot and the necessary decorations are made, the sculpture becomes ready for firing. Firing is the process of hardening the clay sculpture with the help of heat. The oven in which the sculptures are heated in a controlled manner, is known as a kiln.

Clay Heads
These sculptures help children learn a lot about clay sculpting. There is a lot of scope for experimentation in the preparation of clay heads. Along with clay, the materials required to make clay heads are newspaper, a wooden base, glue, wood scraps, etc. At first, one should start making the sculpture with the help of a newspaper. To prepare a basic shape of the head, a spherical shape should be created with the help of the newspaper fixed on the wooden base. After binding the paper ball with the help of tape, one should start adding clay to the surface. Clay should be added from the top of the paper ball till the wooden base. Detailing like the nose, eyes, ears, hair, etc. should be done to make the sculpture more human in its appearance. Further decorations can be made with the help of paint, colorful paper and various decorative items.

Castles
To build a miniature castle, one needs a wooden platform or a tray, in order to support the structure. The sculpture of a castle can be made as interesting as possible, by means of decorations and adding structures such as turrets, moats, flags, drawbridges, etc.

Before actually starting the activity of preparing the castle sculptures, the children or students should be allowed to ponder over various design ideas and innovative structures they could build from clay. This short activity of discussion and interaction helps bring out new ideas and instills enthusiasm in children.

The castle to be built can be made into a single piece or different components can be assembled together. Items that are generally thrown away as trash can be used to decorate the castle. For example, empty bottles can be used to make turrets and tooth picks can be converted into flags. Many more ideas can be incorporated in the process of making clay sculptures.

The field of clay sculpting allows a display of creativity. The activity of clay sculpting can be made interesting by applying creative ideas and using our power of imagination. Clay sculpting and related arts & crafts are a beautiful way to nurture and develop artistic skills.