{"id":6909,"date":"2019-02-11T11:21:56","date_gmt":"2019-02-11T15:21:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/?p=6909"},"modified":"2019-06-27T20:24:54","modified_gmt":"2019-06-28T00:24:54","slug":"carving-clay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/carving-clay","title":{"rendered":"Carving Clay"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Carving<\/div>\n
\nA ruined brush, broken pastels, markers with no caps. Most art teachers don’t have the budget to waste art supplies. Besides the monetary cost, it takes time to replenish supplies \u2013 ordering, unpacking, organizing.<\/p>\n

Using otherwise ruined supplies saves money and<\/em> teaches creativity, both in the classroom and beyond.<\/p>\n

A medium that always produces waste is clay. There are always left over pieces of clay that have begun to harden. Some artists will \u201creclaim\u201d clay by working water back into the hardened clay, either by hand or using a machine. Reclaiming clay is a fine way to reduce waste.<\/p>\n

Another way to reduce clay waste is to use the clay in a different way. Squeeze these left over pieces of clay into lumps and simply let them dry. Once these lumps have thoroughly dried out, they are perfect for carving. This article outlines a procedure used to make beautiful sculptures from dried out clay lumps.<\/p>\n

Carving vs. Modeling – Sculpture Processes Compared<\/h2>\n

Carving<\/em> is a traditional sculpting process. Carving is usually associated with materials such as wood and stone. Clay, on the other hand, is typically associated with modeling<\/em>. Modeling is easier than carving because, when modeling, the artist can both remove and add material. When carving, sculpture material is only removed cannot be added.<\/p>\n

For example, if an artist is carving a stone head and removes too much material from the nose, the sculpture is ruined. If the artist were modeling clay, he\/she could just add some clay back onto the nose and continue working.<\/p>\n

Though clay is usually modeled, it is an excellent material to use when learning<\/em> to carve. It’s not hard in the same way stone and wood are hard. Dry clay chips and scrapes away quite easily. One does not need specially designed tools to carve clay nor does it require a great amount of effort.<\/p>\n

Non-Objective Forms in Clay<\/h2>\n

Like all other forms of art like painting<\/a> and drawing<\/a>, a clay sculpture doesn’t have to represent an actual object from reality. Instead, a sculpture can also be created to be a non-objective or an abstract representation. This approach lends itself well to carving left over, hardened chunks of clay.<\/p>\n

See also:<\/strong> The Difference Between Non-Objective and Abstract Art<\/a><\/p>\n

Materials for Clay Carving<\/h3>\n

Below, you’ll find the materials required for carving clay…<\/p>\n