Thursday, May 5, 2011
Green Is In my blog
Hi! I have added two necklaces in my gallery. Please tell me what you think of it. :)
How to soften dry, crumbly clay
Hi! It's quite awhile since I updated my blog. I have been feeling a little ill these past few days maybe because of the weather. It is so hot and humid here and I am a bit worried that my clay will harden before I could work with them. Some of them already turned crumbly and hard to work with. It is a good thing I still have some clay softener to get all those clay workable. I also use some baby oil, mineral oil, others used olive oil to soften it. It is never easy to condition hard, crumbly clay. It needs a lot of patience and a strong hands. So what you should do when you have a dry, hard to knead clay?
First, I cut the dry clay into bits of pieces. Next, I drop some baby oil or clay softener into the pieces of clay. (Be sure not to add too many oil or softener into your clay because once absorbed, it will be too soft to work with). Then, I let it sit for a few minutes, after that, I knead them with my hands. I do not suggest you get it straight to your pasta machine as this will make your dry clay crumble into pieces as you run them. Just roll them in the palm of your hands to allow it to bind together plus the heat from your palms helps softens the clay. You may even cut them to pieces from time to time and roll them back again. You can also knead them in divided portions, once conditioned you can combine them into one. It will be much easier to knead and condition if you divide it into smaller portions. Once the clay binds enough together, you can now run them into your pasta machine at the thickest setting until it is well conditioned. If by accident you put too much oil in it and it is too soft to handle, you can leeched them by placing the clay in between two, clean white paper and place it under a heavy book or its' equivalent to help press it. Allow your clay to leeched for a few hours or a day depending on how soft your clay was but be sure to check on it or else you go back trying to soften it again. I hope you find this helpful. Have fun!
First, I cut the dry clay into bits of pieces. Next, I drop some baby oil or clay softener into the pieces of clay. (Be sure not to add too many oil or softener into your clay because once absorbed, it will be too soft to work with). Then, I let it sit for a few minutes, after that, I knead them with my hands. I do not suggest you get it straight to your pasta machine as this will make your dry clay crumble into pieces as you run them. Just roll them in the palm of your hands to allow it to bind together plus the heat from your palms helps softens the clay. You may even cut them to pieces from time to time and roll them back again. You can also knead them in divided portions, once conditioned you can combine them into one. It will be much easier to knead and condition if you divide it into smaller portions. Once the clay binds enough together, you can now run them into your pasta machine at the thickest setting until it is well conditioned. If by accident you put too much oil in it and it is too soft to handle, you can leeched them by placing the clay in between two, clean white paper and place it under a heavy book or its' equivalent to help press it. Allow your clay to leeched for a few hours or a day depending on how soft your clay was but be sure to check on it or else you go back trying to soften it again. I hope you find this helpful. Have fun!
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