Clay Doll Faces For Gourds

Welburn Gourd Farm in S. California

Tonight I tried making doll faces on gourds using air dried clay. I have a feeling they will shrink as they dry and need to be glued on to be permanent, but by drying them on the gourds I'm hoping they will at least fit right when I glue them on later. The surface of a gourd is very slick. I did sand it a bit hoping that will help adhesion.

It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so I won't get to work on the gourds outside much.  I brought two in to work on and made a face for each.

I did buy some paperclay once to try the same thing with, but I don't know where I put it or if it is past it's shelf life. A lot of art is trial and error. I'll let the clay faces dry overnight and see how they look in the morning. I don't know if I should cover them with a damp paper towel or wrap them in plastic so they don't dry too fast. If all else fails, I'll at least still have 2 intact gourds for future experiments.