Hi everyone! I was wondering, what's better to get messy, powdered clay or clay that comes in blocks? I was planning to buy some and fill a bucket to get messy so I want to know which one gives a better and cremier result!
Also, does clay ruin your clothes at all? or it is easy to clean up?
I don't think it makes too much difference whether it's powder or block in that both will require a fair amount of mixing! It's more likely to be down to what you can get hold of locally. (Buy a paint stirrer paddle to fit a drill gun and one of those plasterer's deep buckets as otherwise it splatters everywhere. So much faster and a lot less tiring than trying to do it by hand.) If block is what's to hand, cut off fist-sized lumps and leave to soak in a bucket of water, preferably overnight, before starting to mix. It'll be much easier when you do.
Re: Clothes etc - Light grey modelling clay is completely easy-going. Just rinses out without a mark. I'm not so sure about the darker/red clays though.(Not used the latter.) Don't be tempted to use gunge in the same session, though. We found out the hard way at an event a few years ago that the gunge binds together with the clay and is much more troublesome to clean up and get out of clothes etc.
One thing to watch out for is that, if you're using clay powder, the dust is so fine that it can cause lung disease similar to silicosis if you breathe it in, so wear a very good mask when opening the packet and mixing it!
Love you, too
