Back in 2014 I shared a project that I had been working on promising to share the results. Â My kids were taking pottery classes and while they were learning I was sculpting this cow out of clay. Â I had made only a few projects out of clay before this one, my favorite being the elephant. Â Well, I promised to share the results no matter how they turned out, so here goes . . . . .
I was warned not to leave any air pockets in the clay.
I only worked on the cow while I was there, a couple times a week. Â In between visits the cow was covered in plastic and kept wet.
I was nervous the cow wouldn’t survive the Kiln.
Here is a picture of my cow after her first firing.
This is a picture of her other side.
My friend Shellee said she cried when she took her out of the kiln.  She also said that we can probably fix it.  🙂  Since then Shellee had to relocate and other things like needle felting got in the way of us working on the cow.  You will want to stay tuned for part three of the clay cow series to find out if we were able to fix her.  After getting her down off of the shelf and taking pictures of her I am looking forward to seeing if we can fix her.  Maybe I will be willing to try again at another clay sculpture.
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I absolutely love it, and you have inspired me to start making one today in my Poterie class. Little holes in hollow objects helps avoid blow outs, and yes, maybe a little thinner, but also ensuring the piece is completely dried out. You can get a ceramic glue called Mend a Friend . It means that if you want to glaze it, you can put it back in the kiln. Thank you for sharing
Thank you Susan!
Hi, Just seen this and it has inspired me to have a go! Just designing our new kitchen in an old abbatoir, so wanted a lovely cow. May I ask, was the body solid clay? If so, thats possibly why it blew, or the clay was a bit too thick, or it wasnt completely dried out. Ihope you will have another go as it really is lovely.
Hi Sue,
The body was hollow but I possibly made the sides too thick.
Thanks for the input, I appreciate it! Good luck with your cow. 🙂
Very nice job, Teresa! It was probably quicker to do than needle felting, even with the repair work ahead, huh? “-)
Still I am so impressed with your abilities and talents!
Thank you Pam!
You can put it back together using Milliput but won’t be able to glaze and refire, I would do an acrylic paint finish and wax. I did this with one of my Hares it was like an jigsaw but got him back together and no-one would be able to tell he had been in bits.