Itsy Bitsy Natural Sculpting Clay and Alterables

Monday, February 13, 2017

Itsy Bitsy Natural Sculpting Clay and Alterables

Hello everyone!!

Today I have three projects to share with you using Itsy Bitsy Natural Sculpting Clay and Wooden Alterables..............

Hello Friends

Before we begin...a little about the natural clay.......

Clay sculpturing may seem to be a difficult task but once you put your hands on the right clay and sculpturing tools the job appears easier. With Itsy Bitsy’s one kg sculpturing clay there’s absolute freedom to shape out anything you desire. Recyclable and reusable, the natural clay is adaptable for use in a potter’s wheel, for free hand sculpturing and can also be baked for a finer terracotta look. You can also shop for pottery tools, modelling tools, acrylic colours and other embellishments from Itsy Bitsy to add perfection to your project.

Best used for: creating figurines, animals, shapes, vases and other home decor products and school projects

I love to get messy in my craft and wanted to try the natural clay by Itsy Bitsy. The clay is very smooth, pliable, easy to shape and just the right consistency. It does not stick to your hands and is not too dry. This is an air dry clay, you can bake it for added strength. I however want to share another technique with you so that you can use it in mix media projects, create texture with it, stamp on it to make unique work and make own embellishments with silicon and other molds.

My first thought was to create a Lippan Kaam Kutchi Mirror mural kind of work ....I tried with cut mirrors from the store and some Kundan stones to create this on an acrylic box...... I took the required amount of clay, kneaded it a bit, shaped into thick discs of about 5mm and embedded the round cut mirrors in it. For the smaller shapes I made small balls of clay and embedded kundan stones. Added some texture on the bigger shapes with a small plastic pipe.

This was my first trial piece, I allowed it to dry but after drying, the clay pieces separated.....

I adhered the clay with silicon Glue on the lid and then saturated the clay with Gel Medium by Camel, available in the store. I also added scrunched up tissue with a bit of texture paste and gel medium all over the lid around the design......

Another design sculpted free hand... after drying...

Added Clay designs on a textured base with texture paste from the store. Saturated the clay with gel medium , allowed to dry and then gave a coat of white Gesso all over......

I created the flowers and leaves with Clay and plunger tools, Gave a white Gesso coat all over the wooden alterable box and created Texture with Modeling Paste and Feather and Mandala stencils from the store all over the box. It is easy to mold and shape the clay while wet.

I allowed all the three boxes to dry, then drenched the clay with generous coating of Gel medium, let the clay absorb the medium and if needed you can apply another coat of Gel medium. This step makes the clay hard and adhere well to the substrate. the clay becomes strong without any baking. The natural clay is porous after drying, as all water content gets evaporated.The gel medium then settles into the spaces within the clay and imparts strength to the molded clay. The next step is to coat all with Mont Marte Gesso.....

added pearl metallic paints and colour Splash inks .......

I like the effect of Colour Splash inks on metallic paints.....the opaque shiny paints provide a mirror like effect. To top it, the inks with its translucence on the shiny surface gives a kind of glowing effect.......The final piece can be given a coat of spray adhesive or Varnish to fix the colors.