Nature's color palette creates a perfect balance of calming tranquility and contemporary allure. Though the natural world is full of stunning colors, perhaps none are as distinctive as clay.

Paint a few swatches to fine-tune your colors and number of coats. Learn to make homemade house paint with mortar and kaolin clay for a natural and nontoxic substitute for petroleum-based paints.

“Clay is of the earth,” Stokes said. “I like adding color and whimsy.” For desert dwellers, clay art can be a powerful medium, bringing the outdoors in. “Art should bring joy to your ...