Paperclay Bowl

Today we're going to make a bowl, which will take more clay than I usually require for one of my tutorials. You will need a 16 oz package of Creative Paperclay, most likely, depending on the size of your bowl

You will also need a bowl or similar shape to form your bowl over, and some foil. Once you have it finished, you will want to paint it, so I recommend acrylic paints.

I found it easiest to roll the clay out on the foil, so that I could lift it ont the bowl I used as a form. I created a texture for interest while it was still flat.

Then I picked it up, foil and all and draped it over the upside-down bowl. I pulled the clay away from the foil some where it was crimped, so that the clay would not dry around the folds and get stuck. If you just release the clay a bit from the foil, and smooth the foil flat, that clay will lay against it well.

Let your bowl dry for about three days, then pull the foil away from the bowl, gently, as you go. You might find that you should allow the clay to dry a bit more before you paint. But you can use this time to add an edge along the top of the bowl, to hide raw edges. I just made small balls of clay, wet them a bit, and folded them over the edge. You can make the legs ahead of time, so that they will dry at the same time as the bowl, and be ready. See the picture below. I made a foil core, then covered that with clay to make the legs. Once both the bowl and the legs are dry, you can choose about any glue or adhesive to attach the two.

Basically, all you have left to do is paint. I suggest that you use a rather stiff brush to get the paint into the texture well, and that you dry brush a lighter color over the dark once you have good coverage of the base coat. I have painted my base coat on this bowl, but I'm waiting to do the final color because I am getting ready to paint the room it's going in, and I want them to match. I will post another pic of the finished bowl showing the final color that I chose, once my room is done.

You can order Creative paperclay at: http://www.paperclay.com/