So now you are looking at a beautiful creation that was nothing more than clay and water only hours ago.

This is greenware - it is very delicate. 

When it is first removed from the mold it should be "leather - hard".

You can gently pick and pull and rub out seems and many imperfections. You dont want to get to meticulous. It is easy to crush, dent or even tear greenware in this stage.

Now is the time to attach any extra pieces , such as arms or legs, etc...

I use an old paint brush for this. Dip  it in the slip, put a liberal amount on both sides of the piece and gently hold the pieces together. It should only take about 5 seconds for the pieces to bond (longer for heavier pieces) .

When the pieces are joined, go around the seem with the brush again, just to make sure there are no gaps.

It may look a little sloppy, but don't worry, put it on a shelf and forget about it for a few days. 

The greenware will lighten, both in color and weight over the next few days.When it is almost white, it is almost ready for the kiln.

Now, you can remove any remaining seems, bubbles or blights.

I highly recommend buying a few cleaning tools for this. You can do most of the "clean-up" with scouring pad style sticks. They are usually two-sided (brown-course and white-fine). There are also metal knife like tools. The one I use the most has a straight and  a curved end for scraping off seems.

There are also many special tools for textures (such as doll's hair or fur). I have not really worked with these.

Here's a tip that may be helpful - When you think you are done, take a damp paper towel and wipe down the entire piece. This will remove all of the dust  and help with any stubborn spots.

Next - Firing !!!