American Clay on Furniture and Winning American Clay Competition

A few of you have asked to have more details about the clay lamp and up close pictures of the winning American Clay wall.  I am happy to oblige. 

With the lamp, it came to me with the center being a white PVC plastic tube.  I have no idea why it was like that or what was on there before.  The rest of the lamp is a very nice, heavy duty structure with a stone base and top. 

I painted the plastic with a coat of the sanded primer then I troweled on the American Clay.  In general American Clay colors are not very deep or dark.  The best way to deepen the color is to apply an oil, stucco soap, or sealer over the top.  I decided to actually add paint over the top of the clay.  By doing this it does take away all the breathablity of the clay and turns it from a very natural product back into just another painted product.  But I decided it was just a small lamp and I was willing to change the clay property this one time. 

I also wanted to add some more depth to this lamp and applied a few leaf stencils over the entire pole.  Just put the stencil on (I sectioned off the leaf from the surrounding stencil) - and pull it off.  Let it all dry before applying any other topping (like the paint).

Sealing the clay with a penetrating sealer is always a good idea for projects like this.  It just gives it some hardening aspects.  (I would do this very last!)

Now on to the winning American Clay wall. (The Details)

My client wanted an Old World look.  I started with the American Clay color Acacia in Loma as the base and followed up with a skip trowel technique with more Loma in Acacia.  Once dry I took watered pigment in Tuscon gold, Savannah moss, and a mixture of Savannah moss and palomino valley to create the effect of aged clay - in essence it's like a true fresco - earth pigments on top of the clay as a decorative effect.  I worked it with a stippler brush and burnished it until it was just like she wanted it.  

 

LOMA in ACACIA BASE with mud glue (primer on edges only)

LOMA in ACACIA TOP COAT skip troweled

Earth Pigments in Savannah Moss, Palomino Valley, and Tuscon Gold. Brushed on watered down.

Can you see using this clay wall as a photography backdrop? - no more bulky canvases!

The clay is so pretty that the client has even used it as a backdrop for her children's photos.  Another professional photographer just contacted me and would like me to do a rich terra cotta clay wall aged in a deep tea stain for a backdrop.   They were just so tired of having to pull out the canvases in their home studio.  Now they can have a timeless wall (that will add to their house value) without all the hassle and clutter of canvases.

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