Sculpey Oven Bake Clay Review

For several years, I had use of a great pottery studio and kiln. I even had my own wheel, at home, and a make-shift raku kiln at our last residence. We now live in one of San Francisco's outer neighborhoods. There are no ceramics studios nearby and, since I don't have a car, hauling clay and supplies to and from a studio that's a significant walk and train ride away, doesn't really interest me. Not to mention how expensive joining a ceramics studio in SF can be!

A few months ago I bought a package of Sculpey Oven bake Clay. I've used Sculpey before. It's great stuff for anyone who wants to work with clay, but doesn't have access to a kiln. In short, Sculpey specializes in modeling compounds that harden in a conventional oven. You can't make dishes or other items used to consume food from with Sculpey, but it's great stuff for doing clay modeling and sculpture, which is what I was looking to do.

Sculpey comes in a variety of colors, but also comes in terra cotta - it looks and feels like regular clay. I bought a package of this, having used the colored variety many times before, to great satisfaction. I should note that I've used their products a lot with children, and it's always worked out well. It's especially nice to work with kids, fire the art work right in your own oven, and have it ready the same day.

Here's the rub!

According to the box, Sculpey should stay soft and pliable as long as it's stored in a cool, dry place. I knew I wouldn't be using this right away, so I didn't even open the box. I left it just as it had been at the art supply store, and stored it under my bed. In San Francisco, there are few places more cool and dry than under a bed.

A couple of days ago I decided to do some art work. I got the box of Sculpey out from under the bed, set up my work space, and opened the package. To my surprise, the modeling clay had dried solid. It was a brick of totally dry, powdery rock! The packaging, it turns out, is nothing but cardboard with two small, plastic windows. No plastic bag around the clay. No vacuum seal. Just a hunk of clay, shoved in a thin layer of cardboard. No wonder it dried out!

Seeing as I bought this months ago, I no longer have a receipt, so I can't return it to the store for a refund or a credit. Besides, I don't blame the art supply store. I blame the packaging. Sculpey is not exactly cheap stuff. A pretty small box costs about $13. That may not sound like all that much money, but I hate the idea of throwing $13 bucks down the drain.

I like Sculpey products. I've used them before, and been happy with the way they work. However - I am really unhappy about the way they now seem to be packaged. Basically, if you don't mean to use this stuff immediately, there's an excellent chance that it will be completely unusable. I've tried to get my dried up Sculpey back to being soft and pliable by putting it in a plastic bag with a bit of water. No dice. It just turns muddy, but not pliable.

So, good product that I will probably never use again, because the company has done such a bad job of delivering it.