• Working with clay can be a very satisfying activity, and there are endless project ideas and themes that can be adapted for making clay sculptures both with and without coils. For beginners it’s always useful to begin a project with some drawings, either from observation, pictures or your imagination and to use your own interests as a starting point. You will have more knowledge of the proposed subject if it is familiar to you.
  
  

Tiles

• Clay facadeAfrican facade image by Josef F Stuefer from Fotolia.com
  
  The starting point here is buildings. Interesting buildings are all around us, and you can find ideas for clay tiles by taking photographs or sketching interesting textures or patterns on buildings. A building's doorway, for example, can provide inspiration for a clay tile project.
  
  A rolled out flat slab of clay forms the basic shape on which you can add small rectangles to make bricks and windows. Your flat tile may depict a shop front with produce or a street display of the items being sold in the shop. You could press interesting shapes into the clay to show windows, a mailbox or steps leading to a door.
  
  

Footwear

• An old leather boot works well made in clay.old boot image by Adrian Hillman from Fotolia.com
  
  Most people wear something on their feet, so this makes a convenient subject to use for beginner clay projects. Items in an old shoe box, boots for winter or outgrown sports shoes can make interesting subjects. Self-hardening clay works well for this project as it can be painted with acrylic paints when it is dry.
  
  A solid rectangle of clay with another fixed vertically at one end to form an "L" is a simple way to start a boot. Your fingers are the best tools for joining these together, and a pencil or other circular tool pushed inside can be used for making the opening.
  
  Look carefully at the stitching, or the cracking of the leather on the shoe or boot you are using as your subject. Various items like knives and wooden dowels or thick needles and even old toothbrushes can be used for making marks in the clay to show the detail.
  
  You can form thin coils by rolling the palm of your hand over the clay on a flat surface and then use these for the laces of the boot. The finished piece can be painted to look like leather.
  
  

Coiled Pots

• Make coils to add to a pot to look like branches or snakes.Twisted Cooper Birch Roots image by Photohank from Fotolia.com
  
  Starting with a rolled-out thick disk of clay for the base, you can make a pot by wrapping coils around and placing them on top of each other to make the walls of the pot. Red earthenware clay is a good choice for this project, glazed or left natural.
  
  To experiment with your coil pot, use your imagination and instead of having just one opening at the top, try making two or three. You can look at branches or the stems of climbing plants for inspiration. Coils could be entwined around each other or even made to look like snakes.
  
  

Figures

• Use clay for a flat model of a dancer.ballerina image by chinatiger from Fotolia.com
  
  Fellow human beings are all around us. They wear different clothing, costumes, uniforms and work attire and do an assortment of activities, like swimming, dancing or climbing. Those new to working with clay can try their hand at shaping a human figure.
  
  Drawings can help you with the proportions of the body. Beginners can make their human model flat onto a board to eliminate all the complications of getting it to stand up and the difficulties associated with clay when it is fine and likely to break. Starting with an egg shape for the head, which will be flattened slightly to stop it rolling around, you can then make the body shape like a potato and the legs and arms like sausages. Smooth the pieces together to hide the joined areas with your fingers.
  
  The clothing--for example, the skirt on a dancer’s dress--can be made by rolling some clay very flat and thin and resting it over the legs, showing the folds. You could try a whole figure like a ballet dancer, or just a head, like a pirate.
  
  

Still Life

• Making a clay sculpture inspired by the objects around us is another good idea for beginners. Bowls of fruit, bottles of wine, pots and containers are in most people’s kitchens. Making some drawings first will help you with the shapes, and by using coils and slabs you will be able to make the objects without the need for many tools.
  
  To begin any still life project, you can make a "stage set" by rolling a flat circle of clay and cutting it in half, then standing one piece up on the edge of the other to form the stage. From there, beginners can try their hand at familiar still life objects.
  
  A wine bottle, for example, can be made from a short coil and squeezed at one end to make it narrower. You can push your thumb into a ball of clay to form a dish and fill it with balls and more coil shapes for apples, oranges and bananas. The objects you make and arrange on the "stage set" can be painted with acrylic paints when dry if you use self-hardening clay.