If you’re hungry for summer color, take a look at these photo albums.
Bangkok polymer clay artist and entepreneur Ravivan Petchprepa says of her work, "My flowers are handmade out of clay dough. We have to hand sculpture them petal by petal, paint, then gather them into a bud/a blossom then into a spray/stem. We are group of housewives and maidens handmade these like real clay flowers in the suburban of Bangkok, Thailand. You may email the pictures of any kind of flowers or plants including the sizes to us to quote."
It’s eye-opening to see how women in other countries employ their artistry and fascinating to catch a glimpse of their joyous colors. Thanks again to Kim Cavender for her detective work.
I saw Ravivan’s work the other day and was astounded at the realism in her flowers. They’re just beautiful. I, too, am loving seeing the work that people around the world are doing (the guestbook you posted last week was so much fun). The internet has certainly changed our lives and made the world a smaller place. Thank you for being a clearinghouse of sorts for us pc’ers worldwide.
Absolutely stunning! The detail and color is just perfect. I’m thinking that some of the flowers have colored pencil, and perhaps some paint on them too, which I think is neat (being a big fan of colored pencils for anything!).
If anyone is interested, there is a very cool site showcasing glass flowers used for educational purposes from Harvard University. To get there you can click on the link (waring, shameless self marketing ahead) at my new blog (I warned you). Here’s the link:
http://ravensclay.blogspot.com/
It’s the 6/26 post.
Thank you for featuring clay flowers from Thailand. As you probably know, PVC is banned in Asia, and air-dry clay is used. As an aside, Makin’s Clay was specifically formulated using research conducted with Thai flower artists who require thin delicate flower petals that are strong yet flexible to minimize breakage.
Thank you, Cynthia, for being forward minded and including air-dry clay in PCD. We really appreciate all you do for clay.
Are those flowers really made from airdry clay? OMG! They are absolutely stunning.
My experience with airdry has been … mixed. I’ve found it so differerent to work with- that’s its taking me a while to get my head around it….or should I say - my fingers.
Thanks for this excellent link.
Sera
I’ve been making orchid flowers using craft porcelain air dry clay mixed with Deco Clay to make the flowers look more natural. I discovered that using Luna and Thai clay(combination) made the flowers weap in hot weather. The Deco clay takes away the need to keep the flowers in air conditioning.
My only problem is that being in the middle of the ocean keeps getting cutters and veiners either very expensive or not available at all. Does anyone know of any companies in the states that sell cutters and veiners(or the clay) ?
The hobby of making clay flowers is totally addicting….and expensive!
Hi Rosemarie, I’m not understanding what two clays you mix. I work with Deco and I have used the air dry porcelain clay. I don’t know what Thai clay is. I live in Arizona, so heat is a problem. Could you explain the two-clay mixture and what Thai clay is? Do you have a website? - Marlene Brady
I also make flowers out of an air dry clay…I live in humid florida and do not have the problem of the “weaping” of the flowers.. I mix two types of natural clay together, Japanese Luna clay and a natural clay that I get from Thailand.. I mix oil paint with the clay that prevents total drying out of the clay. But, I also add some fine gauge wire in the petals. This gives me the flexibility of the petals, they will stay exactly where I need them to be.
I sell both types of clay on the etsy web site under the name of uniqueorchids along with some of the cutters I use.
Hi Marlene Brady, In order to harden the Deco clay, I mix about half a package with half a tub of CRAFT PORCELAIN which you can get online for about $5.49 a tub(I think it’s misterarts.com or something similar to that if youbuy more than 6 tubs) Even if you get it at $6.00 a tub from other art vendors, the cost of it plus the deco is less than one cube of Luna(Japanese clay) which runs more than $12.00 and Thai which runs about $10.00. It’s expensive if you don’t know what you’re doing in the beginning. You can also mix deco with home made cold porcelain(cooked using starch/baby powder,vaseline and lemon juice) but don’t bend the petals or branches after the clay dries or it’ll crack. You can use pure cold porcelain if you’re making flowers to adorn a mirror or frame. To be sure, it’s not flexible after it dries but, you can take a hose and wash anything made of cold porcelain after it’s dry, unlike the deco, Thai or Luna which will melt it if stays wet long enough.
Those selling Luna and Thai clay in the states charge an arm and a leg for the products as well as the cutters and veiners. Tinker Tech 2 from the UK is actually cheaper than those I’ve purchased in the U.S.
If you go to http://www.flowerclay.com, you can see the cutters for sale(and how cheap they are) as well as the veiners and pictures of the flowers. Double click on the cutter and the flowers will come up.
Hope I’ve been of some help.
Hello!,
I want to learn how to make the flowers..
Can you please give me the information to contact .
with regards
Victoria
Hi Victoria,
I’m not sure where you are so I won’t be able to tell you where to get the right clay for the flowers. Creationsbyedith.com has a whole lot of flower cutters and veiners that put veins or lines on the petals. Creationsbyedith also has wires and other items you might need. Along with these, you can make flowers with fondant or gum paste and there are lots of cutters and veiners on cakesbydesign.cc/cakes-by-design.html , a favorite site of mine. I have had nothing but good service from Scott clark
woolley. His prices are very reasonable. As well, he has wonderful cds which show you how to make the flowers. If you’re in the states, you can order the soft DECO clay from Hawaii where I get mine. They’re online at decoclay.com. Tim is very quick to get the products to you. I order my Craft Porcelain from Jerrysartarama.com. I get a great mix by mixing the two clays inorder to make a strong petal or, flower. Cpcreationz.com has cold porcelain if you want to try that out. They also have cutters.
There are three samples of how to make orchids at: flowerclay.com Click on the demo at the left side of the site. They don’t accept credit cards and I’m too old to put trust in making a deposit in someone’s bank account without the merchandise in my hand. You’d be very lucky if you were living in Thailand because there are many, many vendors that sell clay and all you need to make the flowers. I use loctite glue to adhere petals to eachother.
I suggest you look into your yellow pages and see if there’s a Thai store in your area. Many of them know how to get what you need and may even teach you to make the flowers.
Good luck….it’s a wonderful hobby.
Ro Underwood
hi,
if you know the person who can make orchids with clay from Thai,can you please send me the contact to the right person.
I really want to learn that
Thank you.
with regards Pyae
Hi,
I’m originally from Thailand. I’ve seen these clay flowers many many time as a local. Never thought of making one myself until I moved to the United States. It is a time consuming hobby but yet rewarding when you see the finish pieces. I ordered my clay and equipments from Thailand. It went fine until the Custom cut open the package and I got my clay half dried. Now I get my clay from http://www.delicatecrafts.com. It is local and reasonable pricing considering the conveniences and shorter wait time. Hope this help!
Tananya
HELLO EVERYONE,
GLAD TO SHARE MY INTERESTS REGARDING AIR DRYING CLAY FLOWERS.
PLEASE VISIT MY WEBSITE ALL HAND SCULPTED, MY ORIGINAL DESIGNS.. ALSO THE SILK FLOWE DESIGNS WERE MADE RECENTLY FOR A WEDDING REQUEST.
CLAY FLOWERS ARE MY SPECIALITIES…..EACH FLOWER IS MADE,
“IN THE MOMENT OF TIME”……
TERESA GRESHER
Pyae
Flowerclay.com has three free demonstrations on how to make the clay flowers. It’s in Thai but you can pretty much get good instructions if you watch carefully.
There are several sites that teach you how to make flowers if you visit sugar art sites such as: cakesbydesign.cc Scott sells great cutters and veiners and his prices are reasonable. I you want to begin the process without Thai or Luna clay, use gum paste or cold porcelain.
about a year ago i was introduced to clay flowers and immedicately felt in love with the flowers. I was living in Japan and had no idea how to get started with this hobby, however i just moved back to the United States and want to pick up this hobby. Can someone guide me on how to get started……… looking for books, supplies, advice, well everything to get started. HELP and can’t wait to get started.
M/.
Hi Marty,
The Japanese style of making flowers was quite simple and didn’t require a huge amount of money to buy. If you’re in the California area, the company has several lessons in October. You can get information,books, clay and everything else you need at: decoclay.com
They are extremely friendly and mail pretty quickly and their prices are more than reasonable.
The Thai clay is more complicated and requires cutters and veiners and expensive to import. For cutters and veiners: cakesbydesign.cc
Good luck!
Ro