Book Review: Clay Art for All Seasons

If you are interested in making flowers with air-dry clay, Clay Art for All Seasons: A Guide to Soft Clay Art by Yukiko Miyai is a 'must have' for your library.

Note:    I first reviewed this book in February, 2010 but it is currently unavailable except for 3rd party sellers.  It's a great book and I've seen it listed at over $100.   That inflated price says it's in high demand....but I wouldn't pay more than $30 for it.   It's an attractive, but small book (74 pages, about 9"x9").   Search Amazon and other book sites for sellers with a more realistic price!

It's a small book (only 74 pages) but beautifully photographed and nicely spiral bound (hardcover) so pages lay flat when open. It's also a very popular book and Amazon is sold out of copies quite often. When you see a copy available, grab it!

Publisher's description:   This elegant craft book’s stunning clay creations were inspired by the flowers of Hawaii and beyond.

Using its easy-to-follow instructions, readers will learn how to create realistic orchids, plumeria, hibiscus, gerbera daisies, and other flowers as well as charming themed pieces for special occasions.  With gorgeous color photos and informative illustraions throughout, Clay Art for All Seasons guides readers step-by-step through the creative process, enabling them to enjoy the everlasting beauty of this delicate and highly decorative art form.

Chapter One begins with a description of tools and materials.  ClayCraft by Deco is the air-dry clay used in all demonstrations.   This clay is available in basic colors and a small color chart is included in the book for mixing additional colors.   A short , one page, introduction to working with air-dry clay is provided.  (Note: Many other brands of soft air-dry clay are suitable for the projects in this book.  Homemade cold porcelain could be used, as well.)

In the next chapter you'll find instructions for making 12 different kinds of flowers....Rose, Plumeria, Daffodil, Gerbera Daisy, Lilac, Hibiscus, Peony, Orchid, Stephanotis, Pakalana, Calla Lily and Poinsettia.   Each flower is demonstrated with beautiful step-by-step photos, however, the instructions are brief.  Two pages, for the most part, are devoted to each flower.  No instructions are included for arranging flowers, but gorgeous arrangements are shown throughout the book.

The remaining 30+ pages include project demonstrations with holiday and special occasion themes (mostly non-floral).   There's a Valentine Gift Box (shown above), a Decorated Egg, a Chick and Bunny, 2 Lei (Haku Lei shown here), a Shadow Box with Wedding Dress, a Pumpkin arrangement, a Wreath, a Santa Ornament and a few more projects.    These gift and decorative items are nice, but not the reason to buy the book.   The beautiful flowers are the reason you'll want this book!

If you already have the book....or just find it's sold out everywhere....you might want to pick up the author's second book titled Clay Art for Special Occasions.   Just released in Nov. 2009, I haven't got my hands on this one yet!   It sounds like it may be an update of the information already covered in Clay Art for All Seasons.   The publisher's description says it contains instructions for: "a wide range of gorgeous flowers from plumeria to hibiscus, floral arrangements, leis and decorations for gift boxes, seasonal ornaments".    To me, this sounds very similar to description of the first book.

If anyone has a copy of either of these books, we'd all appreciate it if you would comment here and give us your opinion!

How to Make a Frog

This step-by-step tutorial from UltimatePaperMache.com shows you how to create this realistic frog using the 'paper mache clay' featured in yesterday's post.   Author says: Make this frog out of newspaper, masking tape, pipe cleaners and paper mache clay. ..... if I did it again I’d use stronger wire in place of the pipe cleaners so I could get thinner fingers and toes, but that’s the only part of the process I’d change.

Read more.....
http://ultimatepapermache.com/paper-mache-tutorial/paper-mache-clay

How to Make Paper Mache Clay

The author of this video (Jonni) created the sleeping lion cub shown above.   In the video shown below she demonstrates how to make the paper mache clay she uses to sculpt her figures.   Jonni says using this paper mache clay is faster than paper strips and paste, better details than paper pulp, and easier to make.

Caution: This material does use items from the hardware store that are not rated for use by children, and the resulting clay is not edible. Small children should not use this clay.

How to make an elf with Model Magic

TatyanaBel shows us how she creates her elves with air-dry Crayola Model Magic.  "While creating an Elf, setting a different posture for him or her brings a new attitude in this little creature.  Holding an elf in your hand is so pleasant to the touch, it looks very alive :)  When clay dries out, it becomes unbelievably weightless. "

Meet a New Clay: Makin's Clay

Shape it, roll it, stretch it, sculpt it! Makin’s Clay is a new type of water-based, air-dry modeling clay that requires no baking and dries within 24 hours, depending upon the thickness of the piece. Available in muli-colors, vineyard tones and earth tones.  The individual colors can be mixed together or mixed with acrylic paints to create new colors. Pieces can be sanded and painted when dry.

Makin’s Clay contains no PVC (polyvinylchloride), is certified non-toxic, and conforms to ACMI-AP safety and quality standards. It is safe for children age three and older.  Slightly acidic when wet, Makin’s Clay dries acid-free.

I have not used Makin's Clay myself...it's still on the shopping list!  ;-)   But I was just reading this detailed review of Makin's Clay from Garie Sim, a well-know polymer clay artist, instructor and author (located in Singapore).
 Testing Makin's Clay; My First Impression On Using And Curing The Clay

Garie Sim does some extensive testing of the curing process, commenting that it took 72 hours to fully cure.  I'd like to add that the methods used for air-dry clay are often different than those used with polymer clay. Using the clay as thickly as shown in the testing is not recommended.  Many air-dry clay projects will coat an armature with clay (such as a Styrofoam ball) so clay doesn't need to be so thick.   Using a thinner layer of clay avoids cracks (from uneven curing), shortens the curing process and saves money (uses less clay).

The impression I get from reading Garie's review is that Makin's Clay is very similar to Crayola Model Magic and to Hearty Clay.   All are available in colors and all are very soft, with a sticky consistency.   They are great clays for some purposes but do not take detail well.   Not recommended for detailed sculpting and doll crafting.