Salt Dough Clay Art II

Salt dough sculptures can be varnished or painted after they are dry. Make sure though that they are completely dry before doing so, otherwise the paint or varnish will not stick. Don't use water based varnish or paint; this will dissolve the dough!

You can let the dough air dry; this takes a long time however and the pieces are more fragile than when baked dough. The advantage of air- drying is that the dough pieces which have been joined together are less likely to come loose during drying.

Let them dry on baking paper and make sure they are not too thick; the thicker the sculpture, the longer it takes to dry. You can speed up the drying process by baking the items in an oven; this will strengthen the dough pieces.

Bake them on a sheet of aluminium foil, at a temperature of 300 degrees Fahrenheit (150 degrees Celcius). The time depends on the size, number, and thickness of the sculptures, so check it regularly.

One thing you will have to remember is that the dough will shrink some, while air drying. Therefore, you may want to exaggerate each sculpture a little.

I used to bake them in the oven; it was not only faster, but it also gave the pieces a golden brown color which eliminated the need for paint. If you don't want it to brown, lower the temperature of the oven!