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Hello, dear friends and guests of the blog “We create - don’t be lazy!” Have you ever made a clay souvenir with your own hands? No? Do you think working with clay is difficult? Sometimes it seems like that to me too... Just remember - my first experience of working with this material... Difficult, but very interesting!...
I would like to introduce you to a very creative person who works under the pseudonym Black Wolf. In the world the master is called Tatyana))).
Tanechka loves to draw, craft from beads and other materials, including clay... and today she will tell us how to make a small souvenir from clay with her own hands. This is not a master class, but just a description, reading which, you begin to think that sculpting such beautiful things is not so difficult... if only you had the desire...
"Good day to all.
Probably, each of you, going into a souvenir shop, at least sometimes, looked for cute souvenirs or themed figurines that could not only decorate your home, but also were small chests for small things, like rings and chains. But, depending on the price of such a simple things, sighed in disappointment and returned the figurine to the shelf. Since the price for such a small thing seems prohibitively high, I want to spend this money on something more serious than a simple figurine.
In general, I want to tell you how you can make such a souvenir from clay with your own hands.
You don’t need to be a sculptor to do this; all you need to create such a figurine is:
— Clay (Self-hardening). for example, like this 
If you don’t want to wait a long time for the clay to dry and harden, you can use plastic; it hardens when heated.
— Acrylic paint
Color of your choice, I used silver and gold. Acrylic is good because when using it it is not necessary to cover the figure with varnish.
— A thin stick like a toothpick (a match or a needle will also work)
It’s better to have two sticks, the second one for the tree.
The size of the figurine depends only on you, but in any sculptural product there are always small details that, alas, cannot be made by hand. For decoration, it’s the small details that we will need one stick or needle, and a second one for fastening (preferably wooden, so that we can shorten it if desired).
This is what the souvenir I ended up with looks like... something like an ancient ruin... 
That’s why I affectionately christened the figure “Wreck.” She's not big at all. Only about six centimeters long and four wide.
How to make a “Razvalyushka” - a small souvenir made of clay with your own hands
First of all, when working with clay, as well as when working with any other material, workplace You definitely need to arrange it in advance so that you don’t have to run after the things you need later and distract yourself from the creative process.
On work surface be sure to lay down a newspaper or a plastic tablecloth so as not to stain everything around. In addition, prepare a container with plain water and rags (to wipe your hands while working)
When the workplace is ready, we begin to sculpt the souvenir.
How to work with clay, see the packaging of the material you purchased. Technologies with different materials may vary, but the principle of creating a figure will be the same for all materials, even if you sculpt from simple plasticine...
I sculpted Keraplast from self-hardening clay. And the description is based on working with this particular material
We sculpt bricks, foundations and walls
We take a small piece of clay and start making bricks. We simply crush the clay with our fingers, giving it a rectangular shape in the form of a small brick. In this case, the bricks are no more than 1-1.5 centimeters long.
You shouldn’t sculpt a lot, as the bricks begin to dry out and it will be difficult to adjust them later. Missing " construction material"You can always add more.
From the resulting small bricks, we lay out the base or foundation of the figure according to the following scheme 
Then there is a door, columns and two supporting bricks.
The columns are two small cylinders rolled out of clay, and the door is a rectangle larger than bricks. 
To prevent the structure from falling, we take a little clay and twist it into a flagellum. We substitute it for the largest discrepancies between the bricks and press it down. 
You don’t have to get carried away with this, since in this case, the support between the joints is clay disguised as moss.
Having finished with the walls, we proceed to sculpting the wood.
We sculpt a tree and fix it in a sculpture
I chose this shape because of the support points, in the area of the first fold (it rests against the wall) and the base.
As soon as the shape of the tree is ready, take a second stick and pierce the base of the trunk, approximately to the middle. Don't worry if you poke all the way through the wood, it can be camouflaged. Now you need to choose exactly where the tree will stand. As soon as you have chosen a suitable place, take out the stick and place the workpiece in the chosen place. If nothing interferes with the workpiece, then take the stick again. And already in the chosen place, we make a puncture, but try not to pierce the bottom of the figure. 
Before placing the tree in its rightful place, we take another stick and press small grooves into our workpiece. Emitting the bark of a tree.
Well, the tree is in place, which means half the work is done. It remains to do small, but no less important details.
As I said above, moss is not only a decorative element, but it also serves as an additional support for our figurine. 
Look through your workpiece and first of all take care of the weakest places, in your opinion.
Clay will also help us here. Take small pieces and flatten them between your fingers. We apply it to the selected place and hold it, but without pressing too much, with our fingers. We use a stick, first pressing the edges, then making torn, not deep indentations. Emulating the surface of moss. 
Once the weaknesses are finished, you can begin the rest of the decoration. Now it’s up to you to decide where to continue decorating your figurine with moss.
When the work is completed and you like the result, we set our figurine aside to rest and dry.
My workpiece took a day and a half to dry, because... I waited for the walls to dry, and only then turned the figure over so that the base could dry.
This is done so that the upper part of the figure does not deform under its own weight. Therefore, take your time, it is better to wait until the top is completely dry.
After the figure has dried, the most interesting stage of the work begins. Painting!
How to paint a clay figurine
In my case, I chose silver and gold paint. At first, of course, I wanted to paint it more naturally, but the main colors died and could not be restored... so silver and gold...
When painting your clay piece, keep the following in mind. If the clay from which you sculpted was a regular color and not whitened, then you should first paint the figurine in White color(or another color, depending on what you want in the end), for the base. Otherwise, you may not get the desired color.
As an example, you can look at these two photos. 
On the front of the figures, I initially painted everything with silver, which is why the areas painted with gold look bright, reminiscent of gold.
The moss areas on the back of the figurine were not previously painted with silver, because of this the gold color merges with the original color of the clay, reminiscent of bronze.
Personally, I was pleased because I was achieving a similar effect.
After painting, the product must be allowed to dry...
That's all. An old ruined fortress - a small do-it-yourself clay souvenir is ready. This product can be used for decorative purposes and as a small “jewelry chest”, putting some of your jewelry there. 
Or you can give it to someone, I think it’s not a shame to give such a gift and it’s nice to receive it.
I hope you found it interesting and will be pleased with your own creations.
And don't forget to leave your comment. Your opinion is important to me!
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Goat made of clay. Master class with step-by-step photos.
Clay modeling of a souvenir "Symbol of the Year".
Alyabyeva Marina Viktorovna, teacher additional education, MBUDO CDOD of the city of Dimitrovgrad, Ulyanovsk region.
Description: master class is intended for children school age, additional education teachers, technology teachers and creative parents.
Purpose: souvenir - can be a decoration of the interior of the room.
Target: making a souvenir from clay.
Tasks:
1. To introduce the techniques and methods of sculpting clay souvenirs;
2. Create a desire to make a souvenir from natural material clay;
3. Develop fine motor skills;
4. Learn to sculpt and connect parts, smearing them well, taking into account the properties of clay;
5. Promote the development of imagination and creativity;
6. Develop aesthetic perception, artistic taste;
7. Encourage desire, make exclusive gifts with your own hands;
8. Cultivate a desire to do something nice for others. Symbols are like Ariadne's threads, which allow a person not to get lost in a labyrinth own life. They exist in many manifestations of the reality around us, but each of them is interpreted differently, since each person has his own key to defining a particular symbol. Translated from Greek symbol- this is a sign, an image of a thing or animal to indicate the quality, property of an object. A conditional indicator of any concepts, ideas, phenomena.
Chinese zodiac.
Symbolism is most common in the East, where each phenomenon and thing was assigned a certain meaning. The eastern calendar did not escape this fate. A short excursion into history: the Chinese zodiac appeared thanks to observations of the orbit of Jupiter, whose period of revolution around the Sun is 11.8 years. For unknown reasons, it was the 12-year cycle that aroused the greatest inspiration among Chinese astrologers, and the Eastern zodiac calendar was subsequently compiled according to it.
The chronology is based on a large 60-year cycle, divided into 5 small ones of 12 years each. Each year corresponds to a specific animal: starting with the Rat, followed by the year of the Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Boar. There are five primary elements, elements. They go one after another (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) and are divided by color (blue, red, yellow, white, black).
Symbol of the New Year.
On the eve of the New Year in Russia, toys and souvenirs in the form of a symbol of the coming year are extremely popular. A large selection of souvenirs and gifts with the symbols of the coming year is offered today in trading network, but a souvenir made by yourself will seem much more impressive! This is an excellent and inexpensive gift for a colleague, acquaintance, or as an addition to the main gift. A small souvenir, at the same time, carries a significant meaning - by giving a friend or loved one a gift in the form of an animal figurine to which the coming year will be dedicated, you thereby wish the giver health, prosperity, prosperity, success in everything.
But in the East, the attitude towards such gifts is different - there it is customary to present not souvenirs with the symbol of the coming year, but sweets and fruits, for example... tangerines. This international tradition has roots in China and dates back more than a thousand years. There it was customary to give New Year two tangerines for friends, and since they were expensive in those days, with this gift the visiting guest expressed a wish for wealth to the hosts.
When leaving home, the guest was again given two tangerines. This is how the owners wished the guest wealth. It turned out to be a mutual wish for prosperity. In Chinese, the phrase “pair mandarin” is very similar in sound to the word that translates as “gold”.
Today tangerines can rightfully be considered the most common symbol New Year's holidays in most countries of the world. They have taken root well in Russia too! In every home, the festive table is decorated with tangerines, their aroma mixes with the smells of delicious New Year's dishes, the smell of spruce, under which gifts from Santa Claus will lie at midnight!
Eastern calendar signs.
Unlike the Western, generally accepted calendar, in which each of the 12 signs is assigned a month, in the Eastern calendar there is a month dedicated to each animal sign. whole year. And, as astrologers note, it is these 12 mythological beasts that determine the influence of the cosmos on the fate of people, literally from birth.
Zodiac calendar.
Throughout the existence of mankind, the starry sky has attracted people with its mysterious beauty and mysterious unknown. Ancient people were completely confident that everything that happened on Earth was sent from heaven. Since in those distant times there were no clocks and calendars, our ancestors navigated in space by studying the correct “reading” of the starry sky.
Required material: clay, containers with water, plastic boards, rags, stacks, ballpoint pen refills, brushes, gouache, varnish, foam sponges, whitewash.
Step-by-step work:
We knead a piece of clay in our hands - we get to know the clay.
We roll a thick carrot from most of it into a cone, press it inside the thick part with our thumbs, a void is formed, and the wall thickness is no more than 1 centimeter, but not less than 0.5 centimeters.
Smooth the surface, level the edges, with wet hands, sliding movements of the fingers. Place the hollow cone on the wide side.
We roll up an oval - the head, and apply it to the sharp part of the cone.
Using parallel movements of the hands, we roll two long, thin carrots - horns, and with two fingers we roll two droplets - ears.
We apply all the details well to the head, giving them a characteristic shape.
We roll up two carrots, form a hoof on the wide side, applying embossing with a ballpoint pen.
After wetting the connection points with water, we smear the sharp part of the cone - the hands.
It's time to decorate the head with rings - wool.
You can use long flagella to decorate a fur coat. Finger stamping is applied to the dress - drapery.
The work is ready!
Dries in natural conditions from 3 to 5 days.
We prime with white.
We paint using gouache, brushes and foam sponges for dipping - imitation fur, on sheba.
Cover the work with transparent varnish, you can use spray varnish.
Today we will talk about making handicrafts from clay. You can use both ordinary river clay and special clays for modeling in this handicraft. The latter come in both plain and colored. One of these crafts can be found below.
Clay modeling is an entertaining handicraft, and when you make a souvenir miniature with your own hands, it is not necessary to have great artistic abilities. It is enough to take a ready-made drawing or photograph of the house and you can start working.
Making a clay house begins with selecting a photograph or sketching the original. English houses in the Victorian style are usually used, this is done due to the fact that such houses are extremely beautiful and will easily decorate your home or will be gratefully accepted as a hand-made gift.
However, you shouldn’t get hung up on photographs; you can stretch your imagination and make an elf’s house located on an old stump.
Or, say, an entire village inside a fortress wall.
After you have decided on the sample, it is best to make a drawing of the future details: walls, roof slopes, the platform on which the house itself is installed. This is necessary to ensure that parts do not mismatch during assembly.
The clay is rolled out in a layer of 3-4 mm and the details are cut out with a knife or scalpel. Windows are cut into the walls, do not try to observe the geometry particularly clearly, small distortions will only look more interesting in the finished structure. To ensure that the knife blade does not catch on the material from which you are making the craft, moisten the knife blade with water.
Decorative patterns are applied to the walls and roof slopes. For example, a coating that imitates straw can be easily made using grooves with a needle, and brick walls can be made using a toothpick. And roof tiles can be easily created using a specially sharpened stick. By the way, sushi shelves from Chinese restaurants are very suitable for making various sticks.
To make a souvenir house from clay with your own hands, it is better to use a mass that self-hardens in air. If you use plastic mass for modeling and then bake it in the oven, then after applying the decorative details, the mass must be baked in the oven. For baking temperature and time, see the instructions for the plastic modeling mass.
Do not forget that in miniatures small details give a special flavor; do not be lazy to make a decorative lattice or ivy covering the wall. Moss on the lower stones of a tower or house located near a pond is also suitable. You can reproduce in miniature part of the surrounding interior - for example, a boat.
Often, an LED flashlight, or rather its luminous part and a switch with a battery, are often inserted into a homemade clay product made in the form of a house. If you want to make lighting, then do not forget to immediately make holders for these parts. At the same time, the back wall is made either with a large hole for access to changing the battery or opening (on hinges). The hinges are very easy to make from a strip of tin (from a beer can) wrapped around a U-shaped paperclip (its upper part). Such a hinge is inserted with the tin part into the part to be torn off and baked together with it, and punctures are made in the mating part for inserting a paper clip. During assembly, the “legs” of the hinge are inserted into these punctures and fixed with glue.
After the parts have acquired the necessary hardness (they have been baked or hardened by exposure to air), it is time to paint. Color better details before assembly. At the same time, you can easily place the part in front of you in the most successful and convenient way.
Acrylic works well as a paint. At the same time, there is no need to buy expensive paints in art stores; ordinary “school” acrylic paints from office supplies are quite suitable!
Of course, painting with a brush is a rather delicate task; it’s much easier to use a cheap airbrush. Its price is not high, and its lifespan (unless, of course, you forget to rinse it after use) is more than 2 years. At least, it has already been working for me for 2.5 years at the time of writing this article. Of course, I use it for hobby purposes and it usually works 4-5 times a month, but it has such a simple design that there is simply nothing to break!
To assemble, or rather fix the structural elements, the same mass from which the souvenir house itself is made is used. However, if your material requires firing to harden, you can also use an adhesive connection. Butt parts do not glue very well; it is better to use pieces of fabric soaked in glue to connect parts from the inside of the structure.
The souvenir house can also be used as a decorative lamp with a candle inside. For such a house, it is best to use self-hardening clay. Then, after the house has completely hardened, it will be completely fireproof, because all connections are made of the same non-combustible clay. However, the baked mass also has the opportunity to participate in the manufacture of a decorative lamp with your own hands - it is enough to make a separate part of the structure for the lamp, for example, a tower adjacent to the house.
Remember - the part of the craft in which the candle will burn must have an open space at the top; hot air from the candle and combustion products will escape through it.
However, you can use enough a large number of windows located under the roof of a homemade souvenir house. If you use an LED flashlight as lighting, then, before assembling your clay craft, you can glaze the windows - the glass is cut out of transparent plastic (use bottles from carbonated drinks or beer) and lightly are painted. You can apply a design on the glass in the form of curtains. The glass is glued to the windows from the inside of the structure, so make them slightly larger than the window openings. As you can see, making a craft with your own hands - a house from a souvenir - is not such a difficult task! The main thing is to choose free time for this needlework and committing not to give up until you get a finished souvenir! Well, at the end of the article I will give a few more various types homemade souvenir crafts in the form of clay houses.
Useful tips
Souvenir self made can be given as a gift for any occasion.
It can also be given just like that, for example, if you came to visit a friend or relative whom you have not seen for a long time.
3. Using a marker, pencil or pen, apply the desired letters to the painted buttons.
* You can buy keyboard stickers (with letters) and carefully stick them on the buttons.
4. Prepare the frame and remove the glass (if any) from it.
5. Glue the buttons to the frame in the desired order.
Craft "Beads" - a do-it-yourself souvenir
You will need:
Acrylic paint (any colors)
Gloss (if desired)
Wooden beads (without varnish)
Brush
Leather rope/cord or thin chain
Scissors
1. Paint the wooden beads in your favorite colors and let the paint dry before applying a second coat of paint.
2. After the paint has dried, you can cover the beads with gloss (varnish).
3. Place the beads on a string or chain. To make it easier to thread the rope/cord into the beads, you can wrap one end with tape, which you then remove.
4. Tie the ends into a loop.
DIY kitchen souvenir (master class)
You will need:
A cut of wood (or a piece of plywood)
Simple pencil
Black marker or black acrylic paint
Black thread
Small nails
1. Prepare sawn wood or plywood and use a simple pencil to draw the shapes of a fork and spoon.
2. Draw a black marker (or a brush with black paint) over the pencil drawing.
3. Nail small nails around the perimeter of the design.
4. Pull the thread over the nails. You can do this in any order.
Souvenirs (master class): leather keychain
You will need:
Hard skin
Pencil
Needle and thread
Tool for installing eyelets and the eyelet itself (if desired)
Key ring
1. On a thick piece of leather, draw the animal’s head. Using a marker, draw eyes, a nose, and a face.
*If you don't have a piece of leather, you can use felt, vinyl or foam/foam/sponge.
2. Cut out the design and make a slit (see image). Fold the ends one on top of the other as shown in the image to create volume.
* It is not necessary to make a cut; you can simply make a hole in the cut-out design, where you can then insert a key ring.
3. For a neater keychain, you can insert the grommet and then insert the ring with the keys.
Paper souvenirs: postcard in the form of a fashionable handbag (photo)
You will need:
Corrugated cardboard (you can use plain cardboard or thick paper)
Designer paper
Lace
Decorations
Spray paint (you can use acrylic paints with a brush)
Handmade souvenir: clay vase
You will need:
Plasticine
Baking dish (in in this example it is iron, 30 cm)
Wax paper
Shells
1. Prepare a mold, put wax paper or plastic film (bag) in it and put plasticine in it, rolled out to the size of the mold.
2. Press down on the plasticine so that it “spreads” along the bottom of the mold.
3. Prepare the shells and make their prints on plasticine.
4. Fill the plasticine with plaster.
* For this vase, 5 parts were used, so the volume of plaster when making each part was the same (7 spoons). To avoid drilling further holes in the plaster, you can insert pieces of metal wire into the plaster in advance, at the same distance from each other.
5. When the plaster is almost set, remove it from the mold. All excess parts must be removed to obtain an even tile.
* This must be done before the plaster completely hardens.
6. When all 5 tiles are ready, place them on a newspaper or cloth, in pull out the pieces of wire from the plasterand wait until the tiles are completely dry.
7. Drill holes along each tile (unless you inserted the wire pieces before the plaster has set).
8. Pull the threads through the holes and connect all the parts into one vase.
9. Place the vase on the plastic base and start pouring plaster to make the bottom. You can also insert five pieces of wire where you want the holes to be (see image below).
10. When the plaster has almost hardened, pull out the bottom that needs to be leveled.
11. Make holes (if you didn’t use wire for the holes in advance), attach them to the walls of the vase with thread.
* If you want to paint a vase, it is better to untie all the parts, paint them, and wait until they dry.
You can paint the vase. In this example, shoe polish mixed with vegetable oil was used when painting. This mixture was rubbed in with a cloth. After drying, the tiles were coated with nitro varnish.
Place the bottle of flowers inside the vase.
How to make a souvenir: a fabric pot
Ceramic vases, pots, tea sets, candlesticks, plates, whistles and even musical instruments– you can create all this yourself.
To learn how to make ceramics with your own hands, the main thing is desire. Before becoming a ceramicist, try making a simple trinket out of clay, and you will understand whether it is worth spending money on buying equipment for the work. If something doesn’t work out, it doesn’t matter, soak the scrap and make a new figure out of it; before baking, the product can be modified endlessly.
What is ceramics made from and where to get materials for work
Ceramics is fired clay, which is the main material in the work of a ceramist. In contrast, natural is of natural origin; it is extracted from the bowels of the earth without subjecting it to chemical or other types of processing.
Experienced craftsmen, in order to save money, extract and prepare raw materials themselves. This process involves several stages and is unlikely to deserve attention if you are just starting out and live in the city.
Clay for making ceramics must be greasy and free of pebbles and other debris, otherwise the craft will crack during baking. The finished mass is stored under certain humidity conditions.
Natural clay happens different types:
- White is the most common, initially has a grayish tint, and after heat treatment it acquires a pleasant ivory shade.
- Red – contains iron oxide, which gives the raw material a greenish tint. The main color of the raw material is brown, after firing the products become red. It lends itself well to modeling, does not crumble, and is ideal for sculptures and large items.
- Porcelain – gray when raw and white after baking.
- Blue - more often used in cosmetology and folk medicine.
- Black or dark brown ceramic mass is the hardest clay, taking on an ivory hue after being kilned.
Also clays for ceramics classified by temperature processing for low-melting, medium-melting, refractory.
It is most convenient to buy ready-made pottery clay, focusing on the size of the fraction, color after firing at different temperatures and other characteristics and quality indicators. The cost depends on the manufacturer, packaging, texture. There are ready-made masses with additives for various tasks - modeling, molding, potter's wheel.
In addition to clay, you need glazes and enamels to coat products, pigments to give hand-made ceramics the desired shade, special additives to improve properties and heat treatment.
Used for gluing parts slip mass- a kind of glue made from diluted clay. If you simply connect the elements, they may fall off when heated. All this is sold in specialized stores for ceramists.
Methods for making ceramic products
There are several ways to transform clay into a beautiful ceramic product.
Modeling- most affordable way making ceramic products with your own hands at home. Souvenirs, sculptures, dishes, toys or other crafts are sculpted by hand, as if from plasticine, helping themselves with special stacks or improvised devices.
Pottery requires a rotating circle. With the help of this ancient craft and today they create vases, jugs, pots, plates, cups.
Cooldown– the easiest option for making ceramics for beginners. The work uses a plaster mold, into which soft clay is placed, and after hardening, the figured product is removed. Plaster molds are attractive because they absorb excess moisture, helping the clay product to harden and dry.
Casting– forms are also used here, but of a different type. The diluted clay is poured into molds, the blanks are dried, removed and painted.
Clay crafts gain strength only after firing - processing in pottery kilns at temperatures from 900 to 1300 degrees. Ready-made souvenirs cover acrylic paints or a special glassy glaze for ceramics. In the case of glazes, another firing is required after coloring.
If you want to get a natural shade, use milking - cover an unpainted baked ceramic figurine with milk in several layers and bake again at lower temperatures.
Pottery kiln - types and preferences
Previously, kilns for firing ceramics were furnaces dug in the ground and heated exclusively with wood. Modern pottery kilns come in gas, electric and wood. The latter, as a rule, are made by hand and are suitable for use in private households. In apartment conditions, it is most convenient to work with electric ovens; for larger volumes, you can choose a gas oven.
The metal body of such furnaces contains a refractory brick or other material that retains heat and is not afraid of heat. Ventilation holes are provided to remove moisture; the ceramic firing process is controlled by a program controller. Electric pottery kilns are not a cheap pleasure. The price depends on the manufacturer, volume, power.
There are models with vertical and horizontal loading and bell-type ones on sale. According to the type of location of the heating element, pottery kilns are divided into muffle and chamber kilns. IN muffle it is located around a container made of refractory material (muffle). In chamber heaters, the heater is located inside, which reduces heat loss and makes the equipment more economical.
With a little effort, you can make a kiln for firing ceramics at home with your own hands, using refractory bricks and something for the body, for example, an old washing machine.
Baking is the most important process that does not forgive mistakes. Sometimes even experienced craftsmen see a worthless defect instead of the expected masterpiece. The products are never taken out immediately; they must cool in the oven.
How to choose a pottery wheel
Pottery wheels are needed for sculpting round objects, so you don’t have to buy this tool right away. If you are just learning ceramics, start with sculpting or kneading. Circles come with manual, foot and electric control.
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