Now even Our God in Heaven Started out with a lump of Clay. But I can never equal his Greatness, so let ol BumbleMule show you how to make a pool, for those days you need to cool off.
I love for my little pools to be sort of shapely. the first one was round.
Since I've made this one I have made a couple more.
If you don't have a Clay machine, roll the clay out to about an 1/8- or 1/4 inch thick. I make mine about an 1/8 I think. Just whatever you feel comfortable with.
I used blue clay and then added white in it to increase the size, if it is not dark enough add more blue. You can leave it one shade or blend them. Some times I like the blended look. but don't blend it to wild, your fish will be in a whirl pool. Now, we got our pool rolled out and lay to one side. Fish and flowers and rocks.
For the fish, I take a piece of colored clay and make it into a rope. Decide how big you want your fish, they need to fit inside your pool. There will be rocks and plant life too.
You can roll it in the palms of your hands, this is great for warming up the clay and make it more form-able. It is sort of a soft oval. Lay it down on your table and form into fish shape. I like to flare his tail fins out, add side fins too.
I add tiny little dots of black clay for his eyes. I made 3 fish, one was smaller, I liked the way it looks.
Be sure and look at the fish to get your ideas on how to shape them , I usually have them Swimming in Circles but these are a little different.
Now then, we are ready to make a water lily to adorn the pond. I use round cutters to make the leaves.
After I cut them out I score the leaves to look like they have veins. Also. pinch the end into a stem.
The lilies can be made a simple as cutting thin strips One color for the base, Then the next color for the next layer and finally the center pod.
I like to round the ends of the petals. Sometimes I make them one petal at a time. Take a toothpick or Beading needle and make lines in each petal. I usually lift mine with my Cutter blade to move it to the pool. Find several lily pads and and I've been making a bloom bud to add color to the pool. I off-set the leaves and start in rolling up different colors of clay into rocks. You can make them Large or small, your pool and your rocks.
If you have any questions, ask away. I hope this helps you make a clay pool of your own. After you make yours show them to me, I want to see what you all are doing.
Hugs and mule nuzzles...
