My elasmosaurus
Various creations
Troy Dale (7)
Savannah Dale (18)
Georgie MacDonald (7)
Even little kids can paint a shape from a mold (this is from a dragonfly cookie mould that Luke (5) pushed the clay into himself, and later painted by himself).
Phoebe Gibbins (5)
Terracotta coloured air drying clay. We really enjoyed working with it - had a really good session.
It tends to dry out quickly when working with it – so have a bowl of water handy. (And toothpicks - and beads for eyes.) Very fragile until totally dry. Other than that, a very low-fuss clay for working with kids (and working with yourself.)
Paint with a high quality white primer first if you want your colours on the surface to be bright (I always steal a teaspoon of my husband’s expensive house renovation stuff.)
I also like how warm the terracotta clay looks, unpainted. It reminds me of Etruscan art - they often used brown clay - full of warmth and life - compared to other cultures. Even their art for burial focusses on life, not death.