Monique's Funny Face Ceramics

Project by Monique Marino from San Diego.

Monique has spent the last few years trying to find her "artistic niche" in life. It wasn't until she signed up for an art class in ceramics that something finally resonated with this creative wife and mother. At first she only made vases and bowls, but she recently switched gears and started making her unique whimsical face sculptures.

Materials:

stoneware clay
clay hand-tools
rolling pin
low-fire underglazes
paintbrushes
cookie-press (for hair)
wire (any kind) for eyelashes
glue

Steps:

1. Roll out clay with a rolling pin to approximately 1/4-inch thickness and as wide as the roller. Make two slabs.

2. Wrap clay slabs around paper towel cylinder. Be sure to seal edges with a bit of extra clay. Remove cylinder and let clay dry until it becomes leather-hard. (Leather-hard is when a majority of the water has evaporated from the clay and the clay feels firm. Be careful to not over-dry the clay in this stage.)

3. After drying, slice a horizontal line 2 inches down from the top and repeat all around the cylinder, leaving a gap of 2 inches in between each slice.

4. Push cut edges inward toward middle of cylinder, trying to connect them.

5. Cut out a circle of clay that will go on top and fill in the space uniting the edges. Smooth out the clay until it ends up creating a dome.

6. Roll up extra clay to create facial features--nose, lips and eyebrows. Don't forget to make holes in the eye sockets. Begin adding facial features to the cylinder face.

7. Attach parts with slip. Slip acts like clay glue. It is clay mixed with water to the consistency of runny peanut butter.)

8. To make the hair, use a cookie press. In order to facilitate the clay moving through the cookie press; mix the clay with water to form the consistency of sugar cookie batter. Squeeze clay through, creating a wavy strip of clay.

9. Let the hair air dry to leather-hard prior to attaching onto the face with slip.

10. Once finished with the face, let air dry completely. The dried clay body is called green ware.

11. Paint under glazes onto the face. Some areas might take three or four coats of glaze. Let glazes dry completely.

12. Fire in kiln at 1800 F degrees. Remove from kiln when cool.

Website: www.masqueradeinclay.com

E-mail: moniquejoe@hotmail.com

E-mail: masqueradeinclay@hotmail.com