This week, I wanted to share another flower tutorial with you in celebration of finishing my little flower bowl series. I’ve sneaked these little ones into a couple of blog posts I did about them (making blueberries, shading flower petals), and today’s tutorial connects to the third one.
If you don’t follow me on social media, this series is based around a set of floral bowls I found in a thrift shop about a year ago. I thought they were so cute and perfect for dragons! When I showed them to my mom, she immediately suggested themes for each one: blueberries, hibiscus, and daffodils.
Daffodils are my favorite flower. They’re just so happy and make me think of the crisp sunny weather of spring! I’ve tried doing some sculpting things with daffodils before, but I think the way I incorporated it into this sculpture is the most successful one so far.
After looking at some reference photos, I was ready to start making this flower, and I wanted to share my process with you!
Supplies:
- Clay for your petals and interior “bell” (they can be the same color or different)
- Roller
- Ball point tool (I used both sides of mine for the texture)
- Needlepoint tool
- TLS
Daffodil Petals
Step 1: Prepare the petals
Roll out 6 balls of clay that are approximately the same in size. You’ll want to then roll them into teardrop shapes.
We’ll eventually use a roller to flatten these out, but I like to make it a little easier to do by flattening the teardrops between my fingers, adjusting the shape as I go. I find that it also helps keep the petal shape for the next step.
Note: Please ignore the fact that my photos and videos have 5 petals until the end. I realized too late that I had constructed my daffodil incorrectly. I fixed this for the assembly video since it made a difference, but please listen to what I say versus what I do in the video in terms of quantity ;).
Step 2: Roll out the petals
Now you’ll want to use the roller to make them as thin as you’d like and adjust the shape if there was anything that moved out of place.
Step 3: Add texture to the petals
Daffodil bell
Step 4: Shaping the bell
The bell part of the flower starts out as cone. Start with a ball of clay and roll it into a teardrop, and then flatten out the thicker end against your work surface.
Using the ball point tool again, I like to use it to push into the cone and create the inside of the bell.
Step 5: Detailing the bell
Once that’s finished, it’s time to add the scallops to the edge of the bell. It’s easy to do with a clay too. I used a thinner part of the ball point tool, but you could use the handle of any tool.
I like to add some more texture to the side of the bell by using the other end of my ball point tool. I’m not sure how to describe it; it’s like a thicker needle tool. I start with this to make lines around the bell, and then go in with a needle tool for finer lines.
Assembly
Step 6: Arrange the flower
If you look at reference photos of daffodils, they have 2 layers of 3 petals each, which is why we made 6 petals. I laid the first 3 down so they’re about equally distant from each other. The top layer is then placed in between the gaps of the bottom layer, all meeting in the middle. The points of the petals should face outward.
Once your petals are laid down, the bell should go on top. I added a little bit of TLS just to make sure the bond would be strong once baked, and then I used my ball point to adjust the base of the bell for it to look good on the petals.
And here is a look at the dragon I used this little flower for!
