Green Dragon Viking Hair Medallion - Reuse Project

It has been a long time since I sculpted anything, so I decided to try a project I had been meaning to try for a long time. This Instructable became a combination of two project ideas that I had on the shelf for a while; a hair piece from clay and a dragon piece using a photo of a cat's eye. I originally was going to just do a bracelet with a dragon's eye, but then I realized that I didn't want to do that and would prefer to try something new. Thus this Green Dragon Viking Hair Medallion was born

Clay (I am using cold porcelain in a grey that I will paint later)

Clay tools: Roller, stylus, knife, silicone color shaper

Paper and Pencil (to make a drawing to trace onto the clay)

Paint ( I use craft acrylics in a jade green, a burnt umber, and gold)

Varnish ( I use Duraclear Gloss)

Water and Paint brush (for smoothing clay and painting)

Cat Eye photograph ( I am cutting mine from an old cat food bag, but a magazine or a photograph would work)

Scissors

First, cut out the cat eye photo. I am using the eye from a plastic cat food bag. I have often thought that the eyes on these cats were just so pretty and I used that I could use that prettiness, so I have had this cut out saved for quite a while. Cut close around the eye, but not right to it. You want an extra bit that the clay can go over to make sure the eye is fixed in the clay.

Next I drew a basic picture of my dragon medallion. I made sure that the drawing is in proportion to the eye of the cat. Rolling the clay out thinly (but not too thin!), I gave it a light coating of cornstarch to prevent the paper from sticking. Then I laid the paper onto the clay and used a stylus tool to trace over my drawing's lines, pressing slightly, so it would draw onto the clay. Then I peeled back the paper and re-traced the clay drawing. I know you can't see the original lines I am drawing over in the photos, but I can see them in real life.

I cut out the medallion circle with my knife tool. Placing the cut out cat eye over the dragon's eye area, I rolled out two thin snakes of clay and pressed them on the cat eye, covering the excess paper. Then I used water and tools to smooth out the join. Now all that should be visible is the green cat eye that we want to see. Leave a bit of an edge on the clay snakes to show the eye lid. I made the top "eyebrow" bigger than the bottom lid and left it very obvious.

On to the fun stuff. I added the horns next. I just shaped clay snakes into a point at one end and placed them over top of my tracing, smoothing them with water. I textured the horns with a dotting tool ( I have to go back and re-texture them a few times because I squished them by accident). I add a layer of clay on the dragon's face to make him stick up from the background. Basically we are making a relief sculpture. I use my knife tool to detail his beard.

I sculpted lines on the "eyebrows" to give them a texture. Then I rolled crumpled aluminum foil over the dragon's skin and a bit on the medallion background. Then I was just adding fun details. I made a winged gill piece for the cheek area (which took me several tries to get right), then I rolled a thin snake and made it the mouth line, cutting a thin line through it. I rolled some clay balls and placed them down the bridge of the noise, and I added the nostril. I shaped the interior of the nostril with a silicone shaper. I redid the comb piece (it makes me think of a rooster) again and decided it would need to do.

Next I added the handle piece to the back. I simply rolled out a thick log of clay and fastened it to the back, making sure to leave a gap between the two ends. This is what your hair will go through. Make it larger or smaller depending on how much hair you want to be able to put through it. Mine is about medium. I would recommend doing this after the front as become dry to the point of almost being rubbery because you can squish the details on the front by accident. I did that. Then let the piece dry completely.

Next is painting. I painted a base of a green jade color which I liked a lot later because it kind of resembled greened bronze or copper. After that had dried, I took a burnt umber and thinned it out with water and used it for a wash. This is so it would seep into the cracks and holes, but not really paint the rest of the medallion. It can help to give a piece age. Then I used a metallic gold and with my finger (and later a paint brush) I barely touched pieces of the surface of the medallion. I didn't cover the whole thing. It was just a touch of gold sheen. At this point I really liked it because it kind of looked like an old aged metal, so then I coated the medallion with Duraclear Gloss Varnish and let dry.

So how do you put it in your hair? I found that by twisting a small section of my hair into a rope, I could easily pull it through the medallion's handle. You will have to experiment with how much hair to use. Then I simply wrapped a ponytail underneath the medallion handle to keep it in place. It worked really well, and now I have a dragon hair piece!

1. I apologize for my photos being hard to understand. Basically make a small ponytail and insert it through the medallion's handle. Then place a ponytail holder in your hair under the handle so it holds it in place.

I hope you enjoyed this Instructable and learned how to make a unique hair piece. All you need is your imagination to make wonderful jewelry for yourself. Go Clay Today!