How to Make Dorodango Ball

by reyanshj in Outside > Backyard

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How to Make Dorodango Ball

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Dorodango (泥だんご, lit. "Mud dumpling") is a Japanese art form in which earth and water are moulded to create a delicate shiny sphere, resembling a billiard ball.

it is not much difficult but you need a lot of patience and practice.

I made this on my second try and the more you practise it the better it gets.

Material

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You don't need anything that can't be easily found.all you need is -

1) some dry sand or dirt or even soil

2) water

3) plastic bag.

Creating the Ball

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Firstly you need sone fine sand that you can either find it or made it by using a sieve.

now separate some of the sand and put it in another bucket.

now add a little water to make it a little wet.

Shaping the Ball

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now take out some wet sand /soil and start shaping it into a ball.

while shaping squeeze it a bit to take ou the excess of water.

keep doing it until you find the perfect shape.

Post Shaping 1

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now there are two ways to do the next step.

1) either you can now just put the ball in the plastic bag to dry out the excess of water.

make sure you use something soft under the ball otherwise, it will turn flat from the bottom.

let it dry for 2-3 hours.

Post Shaping 2

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the second method id that u start putting some dry sand on it and start shaping it again.

it might get some cracks but it's okay. fix those cracks using dry sand only.

now put that in a plastic bag and let it dry for 2-3 hours

Refining

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now after post shaping this a common step for both of them and must be repeated for 4-5

times.

now take the ball and rub it with the fine sand you have using your palm.

rub for like 10 mins and then put it back in the plastic bag.

repeat this for 4-5 times.

Finishing

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the finished product should look like the first image.

now rub the ball just against your palm without using sand.

after that rub the ball with a finer piece of cloth and your ball is ready.