Things You'll Need:
- clay, any type toothpicks Popsicle sticks a butter knife
-
Step 1
Start by shaping your clay into a cylindrical shape. This is a shape that looks like a cylinder with a round body and a flat top and bottom. You can make multiple cylinders to put together, or one large cylinder. This will depend on how large you want your castle to be and how many "guards" will need to protect the kingdom. You can make your cylinder by rolling out the clay on a flat surface with your hands, and then standing the roll up vertically and flattening the top with your butter knife.
-
Step 2
Next, carve out the top of the castle using your Popsicle sticks and toothpicks to make that chiseled appearance of the castle wall. You can use your Popsicle stick to push into the clay to create a window or door,making the top of the window or door rounded. you can take your toothpick and draw rocks on the walls to make it look like stone, or to poke into the wall to look textured. Once you are finished sculpting the castle appearance, you can paint and fire your clay.
-
Step 3
If you are using a plasticine clay, such as Sculpey, you will not need to fire it in a kiln. Instead, you will bake it in your over per the instructions on the pack, and paint it after it is hardened. If you are using a self-drying clay, you will need to wait until the clay has completely air dried, and then you can finish it by painting it. If your clay is an earthen clay, it will need to be glazed and then kiln fired. Check with your local community college or school art program to see if they will let you fire your clay castle in their kiln. Often, you will be able to glaze and fire your clay creations free of charge, or for a very small fee.
-
Step 4
Once your clay castle is painted or glazed, dried, baked, or fired, you can display it proudly on your shelf. Making a clay castle can be a great way for teachers of homeschoolers to incorporate art instruction into a medieval curriculum.
