Carving and ceramics?

For my own artistic skills needs I recently made clay representations of a Chalice, candle holders, offering bowl, etc
I know they have a lot of my own energy imbued into the very creation of these polymer/ceramic things but, will it be just as effective? And just for fun I also made an athame since I still had a lot of clay left over.

Also, in your honest opinion, whats the best tools/methods of carving? I already found a wickedly naturally-twisted Torrey Pine branch that had fallen, but If I were to carve a similar design that wraps around the wood, what's your thoughts?

Any discussion would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for reading
Blessed be!

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Personally the best method for carving is just with your hands/nails and natural items, like crystals etc. But clay or polymer probably won't be the best idea for chalices, especially if you want them to hold water; it will seep straight through clay and if you want to drink out of it you cannot use polymer clay as it is somewhat toxic.

Thanks. I was thinking along those lines as well. But what about glazes and certain kinds of paint that may prevent the water from seeping into the porous clay? ( The glazes are not so toxic as some harsh chemicals are, and It won't be used much for drinking as it will be more of a representation of the water Element )

I like to use whittling knives for carving designs on things like wands. They come in a variety of sizes of blade, straight and curved, and you can get very detailed with them. Flexcut are a good make.

If you want to carve on flat pieces of wood then woodcarving chisels are a better option. Again, Flexcut are a decent make and you can buy sets of small hand-sized chisels.

As for techniques, I find YouTube has lots of helpful videos if you search "woodcarving videos".

Good luck.

Any glaze should within reason waterproof clay, but if you miss a patch or put it on too thinly it will not work too well. If you put too much on it may not dry properly, it is really a test and see job. Even this may not completely waterproof the item so I would check out different glazes and their information booklets before you buy.

Bake the clay! All ceramic articles begin as carvings! Or moldings.All wooden articles start as carvings!

By the way. If you carve an article from wood,the material remains wood! But, if you make something from clay, and then bake the clay at a high temperature. It becomes a totally different material. It is no longer clay. It has changed into something else. And that, my young friends, is magic! Changing something into something else. Magic is not always complex. Sometimes it is very simple.

I actually baked mine about a week or so ago, and waiting for the corresponding glaze to arrive :) I may need to re-fire one piece as the inside didn't seem to set or harden completely.

And I'll probably get a whittling set soon, I've always liked the idea of carving and sculpting but always stuck to drawing in the end.

Thanks for your replies ^^