How To Dry A Clay Sculpture

Making a clay figure or vessel is a very easy method to make pieces that are decorative and useful for the home, although the process is a bit tedious and muddy, and on top of that you have to heat it so that the material does not break with it. What are you working?

Despite this, it is a very practical craft that both children and adults can do to obtain decorative objects for our homes as well as use them to serve or cook different types of food that require something special.

Everyone can make a sculpture or clay vessel, the difficult part becomes when the use of other tools or accessories is required with which it must be dried efficiently to prevent it from exploding, breaking, or ending up cracking.

For this reason, a series of molding, modeling, and drying must be carried out through special techniques that must be known and learned well so that the finished work or piece is excellent and can be used as a decorative object in our homes.

What do you need to dry a clay sculpture?

• Nothing special is needed because the clay can beair-driedd.
• There are also several options with which you can dry the clay, it is enough that you choose one and have the necessary tool.
• With the hair dryer you can choose to dry the clay by keeping it hot on the piece for a while.
•  Special oven for ceramics where you can place several pieces at the same time to dry
• You can also use a microwave oven to dry the clay, although depending on the size you can only put one or two pieces.
• To dry the clay pieces in a home oven you must be aware of the specifications for it.
• Maintain the rules of use of the ovens while you are working with them and prevent children from being exposed to them.
• Wear gloves to avoid possible burn incidents.

Instructions for drying a clay sculpture

As we already know, clay is a mineral that is made up of aluminum silicates, which gives it that lumpy and viscous paste structure that can be found in various rocks, mainly granite among many others.

It can be elastic if water is added to make the paste or special mixture that will shape the different images, figures, or aspects to decorate if it is made in an efficient and resistant way, heating it at high temperatures in ovens for this purpose.

Its components contribute to the chance that it becomes soaked when left in contact with the air, although depending on the type of clay used, it can be dried in a normal home oven so that it remains perfect without having to worry about breaking.

Instructions for drying clay pieces

1. You must take into account that the accessories of the dryer are compatible with the type of molding that you have done, since if it is very powerful you must reduce the speed a little to avoid breaking or cracking and not looking good.
2. You must be careful if you are going to use the diffuser, not to get it so close to the piece to avoid first one part drying and then another, causing it to demold, so you must remove it so that it dries evenly on one side.
3. For it to cover the entire area, you must move it back so that a large piece of the piece covers you and always starts from the bottom up so that the base hardens and dries faster and you do not have any problems.
4. You must make delicate movements to prevent your piece from cracking by flipping the bottom part and keeping it fixed while you dry it with a dryer without it moving or accidentally tripping over it, causing it to break.
5. Remember that a cracked piece is useless, so you must be aware when drying with the hair dryer that the clay piece dries on all sides without any problem and quickly for better results.
6. With the home oven you must be aware that the temperature is higher than 200º and thus the entire model dries evenly, but before putting it in it you must verify that they have the perfect temperature.
7. Find a tray for cakes or cookies, regardless of whether it is round or square, and place all the pieces to be dried at a safe distance from each other, preventing them from touching and thus avoiding any inconvenience.
8. Try to keep the oven door slightly open to let the moisture out of the oven, leaving a space of 10 to 15 minutes, Check it from time to time to verify that it is dry, remember to use gloves for this.

Tips for drying a clay sculpture

• Molding with clay can be a distraction for adults and children, as long as it is done with due precautions, especially when doing it with children.
• Remember to dry the figures made with a cloth before putting them in the oven as they can crack.
• When you place the pieces in the air to dry, you must be aware that they do not break or that someone can manipulate them.
• Keep in mind that the handling of clay pieces should be done in the same way as ceramic pieces or even with more caution since they are more delicate due to the type of material.
• Clay molding can be a relaxation tool so it would be good to use it for those times when you feel more stressed or anxious.
• The pieces must be completely dry before removing them from the oven where you put them so that they do not crack and become deformed due to the poorly elaborated drying process, it is a technique that you must follow to the letter.
• Use the appropriate tool to mold, manipulate, dry, and above all handle of the clay pieces towards the oven where they are going to be dried.
• If you want to add color to your figures, you can use special pigments with which you must work according to the model you have chosen for your pieces.
• Clay is a beautiful material in itself so if you want you can leave them the color that has remained after the drying process, which makes it look more rustic and with specific shapes.
• You must be aware that making the paste with clay is a process that must be at its point in order not to have problems with the finish of the piece or, failing that, with its drying, producing a disaster instead of a well-worked figure.
• In the market you can find different types of clay, being of different colors and easily identifiable by how they should be dried, so you should know well which one to work with depending on what you want to do for your home.
• Clay is very easy to use and does not require elaborate plans or difficult-to-use tools. In addition, children can manipulate it to make figures of all kinds without any problem.
• Use your little ones to help you at all times from the beginning of the molding process to cleaning the entire job site. You can do it in a fun way for them as if it were a game.
• You can use it for many useful things for your home, ranging from decorative objects to pots with which you can manipulate food, as well as small bricks that you can use to decorate your garden. Dare to use clay to decorate your home.