How to make a creative arts project about myself?

Arts and craft project: how would I make a tea cup?

• For school I need to make an object from the Victorian Era, and I wanted to make a tea cup. Problem is I can't use clay or any heavy material like that. Do any of you know how ...show more

• Answer:

  You said no "clay," but there are clays that are paper-based which would be very light, and even polymer clays when thin would be much lighter than "earth" clays. One very good brand of paper-based clay would be Creative Paperclay: http://www.paperclay.com/projects.htm http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=Creative+Paperclay It can be painted after drying, or it can have color built into it with acrylic paints before shaping. You could shape the cup by hand, or over a removable form (like another teacup or just a bowl or half of a glass ball ornament, etc), or you could use something inside the clay cup to make it stiffer that you'd leave in (a permanent "armature") like wire mesh or other clays or even fabric/paper towels that have been stiffened with thinned-down permanent white glue (like Elmers GlueAll) or with "Stiffy" that you'd buy, then allowed to dry. For the handle, you'd either just press the new clay onto the old clay (using a *lot* of contact area where they meet) or make the cup and handle separately and dry then glue them together, and handle the finished teacup by the bottom or sides... or put an "armature" underneath the clay you use that would make the handle stiffer (wire, anything curved the right shape, etc), and perhaps attach each end through the cup as well to make it stronger if held by the handle. "Model Magic" is also very lightweight, but you won't get as much detail from that kind of air-dry clay as you would from the Creative Paperclay air-dry clay. (Other kinds of paper "pulp" clay could be made at home, but the Creative Paperclay will be much smoother and probably stronger.) You might also want to check out some of the ways that teapots and teacups have been made from polymer clays to get some ideas for other clays too: http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&gbv=2&tbs=isch:1&sa=1&q=polymer+clay+teapot These are mostly mini or small ones, but could use the same ideas: http://glassattic.com/polymer/miniatures.htm ...click on Dishes & Bakeware, then check out the subcategories with info an links on making "cups" and "bowls" and "teapots"