Hints and Tips

Here are some vital points to keep your art programme moving this year...

• Keep Paper Magiclay airtight when not in use by tightly wrapping it in the plastic it is wrapped in or Cling Film. Ideally keep it out of the sun e.g. in a cupboard.
  
  
• Plasticine can be purchased in 500g blocks and in assorted fluorescent or 24 Fun colours in one pack. Look at the project you are doing and determine which colours would be used the most. Purchase them in the 500g blocks and then buy a smaller quantity of the assorted packs for details.
  
  
• Empty Stackables are a great way to dispense and store small beads, sequins, eyes etc.
  Use Toothpicks to join heads to bodies.
  
  
• If you cannot afford to use Poly Balls or Poly Eggs as a form to start a model with, scrunch-up newspaper into a ball, secure the form with Masking Tape and then work the Paper Magiclay over this form.


• If you want students to experience working with clay and do not have a kiln teach the skills of rolling, pinching, joining etc. with normal clay which is inexpensive. When the students are ready to make a model, use No Fire Clay as this does not need to be fired. No Fire Clay is a soft and pliable modelling clay which air dries, it is non toxic, made from natural materials and manipulates as a natural clay with water and tools. As with clay, the No Fire Clay must be worked with water, keeping the clay moist. The easiest and cleanest way to do this is to have pieces of foam rubber saturated with water on the work table. If the clay shows any signs of cracking when being worked, just moisten fingers on the foam and work the moisture back into the clay. To join clay shapes together, each surface of the clay must be scored, wiped with slip ( clay and water paste with a drop of PVA. ), pressed and the edges smoothed together with a modelling tool. A small coil of clay needs to be added into crevices or cracks caused by joining these shapes.
  No Fire Clay will keep in the plastic airtight bucket it is packed in, make sure the lid is securely replaced when not in use. A quick tap around the rim of the lid with a hammer does the job. Place the used No Fire Clay in an empty airtight container, not back with the unused No Fire Clay. It will take approximately one week to ten days to dry in room temperature.  When dry it can be painted with Chromacryl or Vipond.

No Fire Clay is ideal for schools without a kiln, but I do suggest that normal clay is used first to teach the skills of clay modelling and that the No Fire Clay is used for the end product only.