How to Make Ceramic Ocarina Necklaces

Kneading air bubbles out of clay is important.

An ocarina is a small flute musical instrument. The number of holes an ocarina has varies from as few as four to as many as 10. A video game called "The Legend of Zelda" features an ocarina as a key game-play feature. In order to play an ocarina, the musician covers a combination of the instrument's holes with her fingers as she blows into its mouthpiece. Using clay is a common way to make ceramic ocarinas as well as ceramic ocarina necklaces.

Things You'll Need

• 1 lb. natural clay
• Water bowl
• 2 feet dental floss
• Household spoon
• Ruler or measuring tape
• Utility knife
• Metal ring
• Kiln
• 2 1/2 feet ribbon

Instructions

Creating the Ocarina Necklace Body

1. Grab a piece of natural clay that is one-half the size a tennis ball to make one ocarina necklace.

2. Wet the piece of clay with water, and knead it for five minutes to remove air bubbles.

3. Roll the clay, and form it into the shape of a teardrop.

4. Place 2 feet of dental floss in the middle of the clay teardrop shape. Use the dental floss to slice the clay teardrop shape in half.

5. Hollow out the teardrop shape's halves with a household spoon while ensuring each half's clay wall remains 1/4 inch thick.

6. Wet your hands with water, and use your wet hands to smooth rough edges of the teardrop shape's halves.

7. Rejoin the teardrop shape's halves back into a full teardrop shape, and pinch their sides together to seal the halves' seams. The joined teardrop halves form the body of the ocarina.

Refining the Ocarina Necklace

1. Slice four holes out of the top of the ocarina with a utility knife, and remove that clay.

2. Slice a thin blowing hole out of the thin end of the ocarina's teardrop shape, and remove that clay.

3. Wet your hands with water, and smooth rough edges of the ocarina's clay while keeping the holes free of blockages.

4. Insert one metal ring into the end of the ocarina opposite the blowing hole until only a semi-circle of the ring is visible.

5. Secure the metal ring in the clay by smoothing clay around its visible edges.

6. Bake the ocarina in a kiln at 1400 degrees Fahrenheit for eight hours. Keep the ocarina in the kiln to cool down for an additional five hours.

7. Thread 2 1/2 feet of ribbon through the opening of the metal ring, and decorate the ocarina necklace according to preference.

Tips & Warnings

• Find a kiln through pottery classes or in a telephone book's white pages.

• Using a kiln without training is dangerous.

References

• Ten Thousand Villages: Assorted Ceramic Ocarina
• Green Verdugo Pottery: Ocarinas; How to Make a Clay Sweet Potato Ocarina
• "The Columbia Encyclopedia", Sixth Edition; Ocarina; 2008