Giant Bacteria Coaster

Hi, today I wanted to share with you how I made a super cool (and useful) coaster in the shape of a cholera bacterium. The materials were cheap and it was so dis-easy to make (sorry) that I decided to become a craft influenza (again, sorry) to show you how you can make your own.

Note: I chose to do cholera bacterium as it's a water borne disease so it just seemed right to support a glass of H2o, but you can do any bacteria or virus you want.

OK. Snow more delays, let's get into it! (because John Snow tracked the London cholera outbreak of 1854 to the Broadstreet pump, Get it? I ran out of good puns faster than I expected)

Supplies

Air-dry clay - preferably white, but terracotta is fine too
Clay shaping tools - if you don't have these you can improvise with household items. Try a toothpick for detailing, a kitchen knife for cutting etc
a small bowl of water
Acrylic paints and paintbrushes

Squish your clay around with your hands to warm it up a bit, this will make it easier to work with. Now roll it into a ball with your hands

Outline

Roll your clay flat until about 1/4 inch thick. Trace the outline of your bacterium- mine is an oval pill shape. Place a glass or mug on top to make sure it fits your coaster.

Sketch

Sketch the details of your bacterium lightly so any mistakes can be rubbed out with a little water. I did three inner rings for the capsule, cell wall and plasma membrane, DNA, ribosomes and plasmids.

Cut

Cut out your shape with a clay tool or dinner knife. Wet your finger with water and smooth the edges of your shape to erase any jaggedness from cutting.

Draw

Go over your sketch with a detailing tool to deepen the lines. This will make your design clearer when it's dry.

Flagellum- the Wiggly Woogly Part

Now for the flagellum, the part that helps your bacterium move. Roll a smallish piece of clay into a sausage and flatten slightly. It should have a flat top but still be 3D. It should be 1/2 inch wide and 1/4 thick. It can be however long you want. To attach, wet the end you will stick to the body as well as the spot it will stick to. Squish and smooth the pieces together until you can't see the join.

Pili

To create the pili, make another flattened sausage. Cut this one into equalateral triangles and attach evenly around the edge of your bacterium using the same method as the flagellum. It's time consuming but worth it, trust me!

Let Dry

Let dry for around 24 hours. You'll know it's dry when it's lighter in colour and hard to the touch.
Tip: to help your piece dry faster lay it gently on a sheet of foam from an old memory foam pillow. This will allow air to reach all parts of the clay, even the underside which otherwise takes longer to dry

Colour

Colouring! There are lots of ways to colour clay. I used acrylic paints because they're durable and vibrant, but with a little googling you can use a whole host of art supplies depending on the look you're going for. Have fun with it!

Glazing

You don't need to glaze air dry clay, but with this piece I recommend it for durability. You can buy specialist air dry clay glazes but they're expensive and probably not something you have lying around. My favourite method is acrylic paint glaze, originally intended to layer over paintings but looks just as good on clay. You can also get a wide variety of finishes, matte and shiny and many others. If you don't have acrylic glaze to hand I recommend pva glue. It's important to note however that you should mix the glue in WITH your paints, not layer it on top. This prevents the glue flaking or peeling.

Done!

Congrats! I bet you feel like Edward Jenner completing his smallpox vaccine. I hope this coast both protects and decorates your table. Do you best to avoid exposure to dropping and antibiotics, as both are quite damaging to your piece. Thanks for crafting me, I hope you had a great time!