How to Make Clay Hands

Hand Construction From Cut-out Shapes Built up With Layers

Jul 10, 2009

Hands constructed from clay can be props for plays, liturgies or other class room activities. If paper clay is used these simple sculptures can be sun hardened.

This hand construction process is a very simple way to make clay hands with an art class. The sculpture of two expressive hands will become an attractive discussion starter in the classroom. By the end of the project students will have become familiar with the properties of clay and they will be familiar with one method of sculpting using simple clay techniques.

Materials for Simple Clay Project

paper clay
clay tools or kitchen utensils such as knives and forks, skewers, paddle pop sticks, a plastic bottle to act as a rolling pin and fishing line for cutting
an area to work where the clay can be rolled out and kneaded
storage area so that the clay can be worked over a period of time
access to running water and clean up facilities
paper to leave the hands draped over

Method for Sculpting Clay Hands

The first stage involves cutting and shaping the hands following these steps in order

With the fishing, line cut two slabs of clay straight from the block so that they are approximately as thick as a hand would be.
Place a hand on the block and trace around it with a skewer.
Cut out the hand and place it to the side on a clean sheet of paper (photocopy paper works well).
Repeat this step so that there are two hands.
Roll balls of clay so that they would fit neatly inside the hand and drape each clay hand over a ball of clay with a sheet of paper separating the clay ball and clay hand as shown.
Leave these to become leather hard. This means that they will be fairly stiff but still workable.

If the clay hands are cut out and draped in position at the end of a day, they should be workable by the next morning. The expected time for clay to become workable may vary. If there is a heater running, the hands might be dry by morning, and yet if it is wet weather, students may need to wait another day. To be workable the clay should be stiff enough to hold its form when it is being shaped or moulded. It should hold good form when students draw lines onto the surface such as the finger nails and skin creases. When they clay feels right, students are ready for stage two of the process.

Fashioning and Carving Sculpted Hands

Roll small balls of clay and add knuckles to the finger joints, smoothing and shaping them so that they come to look natural.
In the same way, add a strip of clay underneath the spot where the knuckles are positioned and add a strip of clay where the hand joins on to the arm above the wrist.
At this stage it should be possible to add clay where necessary, as well as to carve it away to create the desired form.

It is not advisable to attempt the next stage, which involves joining the hands together, until the hands are leather hard, as they will require quite a deal of manipulation. The clay needs to be workable but stiff, so that it is hardy enough to endure a degree of handling.

Creating a Base for the Sculptural Statement

Now is time to work with the base so that a sculptural statement can be made by the gesture of the hands. With the students, decide whether the hands are giving, receiving, praying or making an emphatic statement. With this decision made, create a base that will hold the hands in position.

When students have decided where the joins will be, have them

scumble the clay and coat it with slip before joining the pieces together for a base
when the surfaces touch, wiggle them gently as this will weld the pieces together

Once the pieces that are combined to make the sculpture have been joined or welded:

smooth the sculpture by burnishing the clay
set it aside to dry
let the clay dry slowly
only once it is quite dry, put it in direct sunlight to sun harden

Finishing and Decorating Clay Hands

Once this sculpture has been completely dried and has been baked in the sun:

coat it with PVA glue as this will give it a nice finish and make it stronger
bake this in the sun again so that it dries completely
when dry under coat it with white acrylic house paint

The hands are now ready for decorating with acrylic paint. They can be painted with bright colours and made quite decorative, or they can be polished and burnished with shoe polish if a more serious artistic statement is required. If a more durable sculpture is required, either use hand construction clay and have it fired or coat the sculpture with Expoxy Resin for a more durable finish.

The copyright of the article How to Make Clay Hands in Visual Arts Education is owned by Jo Murphy. Permission to republish How to Make Clay Hands in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.