Dorodango Balls
Use clay from your property and a little water to make these polished clay balls as keepsakes or gifts to give away. Completely free of charge and just a little bit of labor required to make dorodango balls. A great homeschool project!
Equipment
- 1 Shovel
- 1 Pair of Gloves
- 1 Bucket
- 1 Sturdy Screen or Mesh Sieve (Like an old colander.)
- 1 Smooth Rock or Smooth-Lipped Jar
Ingredients
- 1 - 2 lbs. Natural Clay
- Water to Mix
Instructions
- Harvest the clay and dry it out, if it’s wet.
- Pound the dry dirt clods until they crumble apart to dust. Remove as many rocks as possible, as well as sticks and any botanical material you find.
- Gather 1 cup of dried clay and start adding water to it in 1 tablespoon increments. Mix the clay and water with your hands, allowing the clay to fully absorb the water.
- Begin shaping the damp clay into a ball. Add only enough water to get the ball to glue together.
- Smooth the sphere as much as you can with your hands and once it's sufficiently round, wrap it loosely in parchment or wax paper. You can really wrap it in anything that will enable the ball to dry, but slowly. If it dries too quickly, it will crack and you’ll need to start over.
- Allow the ball to sit overnight or for as long as it takes for the surface to dry out enough that clay no longer sticks to your fingers when you touch it. You should be able to run your finger over the surface and not make an indent. It will feel dry, even though the core will still be damp.
- Use a very smooth stone or any smooth surface to repeatedly rub and rub the surface of the ball. This aligns the clay particles and stacks them so that the ball will be solid and, eventually, shiny.
- Once the ball is hard and shiny to your liking, buff it with a soft cloth and display it in a safe place or wrap it well to give as a gift.
Notes
If the surface of the ball is sticking to your smooth stone or jar lip, set it aside to dry out a little longer. Check it every few hours to see if it's dry enough to begin smoothing without sticking.
This process takes hours or even days, depending on how much time you have to devote to it. The motion is extremely therapeutic, actually! I love smoothing down these balls while I listen to a book or watch a movie.
You may feel like you'll never get your ball to shine up, but I promise you it will. Just keep smoothing with finesse, not force.
If the ball falls, it will crack, FYI.
One thing to note is that the ball will change colors as it is polished and dries. It usually darkens and the color revealed is so beautiful.
We've tried some of the natural clays available at art stores to make these balls and the process works but not as well. The balls will often develop an dusty coating that needs to be buffed off periodically. And, to be honest, they're sort of boring.
Natural clay dug out from your own dirt will provide variety and gorgeous colors. The inevitable imperfections from small rocks and nicks will make the balls even more unique and lovely.
Smoothing the Balls
- After testing various items to smooth the dorodango balls, my favorite is a smooth, polished stone. However, you can use other things, too.
- A small or medium sized glass bottle with a rounded rim on which the ball can be rolled and rolled.
- Bowls of various shapes in which you can roll the bowl around to smooth it.