18 Oct How to Make a Clay Model of a Pomegranate

It’s time to tackle model #23 in our clay modelling homeschool handicraft series. This lesson is a clay model of a pomegranate, from the book, A Manual of Clay-Modelling by Unwin. The majority of directions for this model are referred back to model #1, a clay model of an orange, our very first attempt at clay modelling.

Materials Needed

• The book, A Manual of Clay Modelling by Hermione Unwin (or free online HERE)
• Modeling Clay (the book suggests red terra cotta clay)
• Clay modeling tools (this kit includes many tools, along with a sponge and wire to cut the clay)
• An modelling board with an armature – hopefully you’ve made this with us already
• A bowl of water
• An apron or paint shirt to protect your clothing
• Newspaper, or plastic covering to protect your table
• A pomegranate

Happy Handicrafts Video: How to Make a Clay Model of a Pomegranate

Directions

We started our project by making a square slab around the armature. Then we began to build up the pomegranate. We pressed smaller pieces of clay together, ensuring that it resulted in a solid lump of clay. Make an effort to get the lump of clay as close in shape to the pomegranate as possible. Compare your growing lump to the original model frequently. Once it is as close as you can get it to the general size and shape of the pomegranate, press it down onto the armature until it touches the slab.

Now, with the lump of clay on the armature, copy the original by putting on pieces of clay with your thumb, and smoothing away the edges by applying pressure with the thumb. We noted that some areas were flatter than others, while other areas were curved in. Copy this to the best of your ability.

Next, it’s time to build up the calyx at the top. We rolled out a thin strip of clay, which we wound into a circle onto the top of the pomegranate. Luci smoothed the edges so that they blended well into the remainder of the pomegranate. She then cut the divisions of the sepals and curved them inwards, as on the original model.

We completed our clay model of a pomegranate by smoothing out the surface with a wet finger and thumb.

Come Join Us!

It was fun to look back at our first clay model and compare it to our current state. If you’d like to participate in this series, you may want to read An Introduction to the Handicraft of Clay Modelling. This will get you most of the information you need to get started.

We look forward to you joining us on our YouTube Channel, Happy Handicrafts, where we share all of our handicraft videos!