Anubis Mask: In progress!

Oh man, I'm so stoked about this project I started today. I've had a specific design in mind for an Anubis-esque mask that I've wanted to make for at least a year, but I've never had the resources.

Then a couple days ago I splurged on a big container of cheap air-dry clay, and I spent all this morning getting a good start on it. I made the base out of a duct-tape dummy of my face (naturally I just had one of these lying around), a plastic bottle, and a paper towel roll, and then I plopped myself on the floor and mucked around with clay!

It's been years since I worked with any sort of modeling compound, and what a glorious change of medium it is. What is it about clay that makes you feel compelled to sit on the floor while you're working with it? Something about the earthiness, or is it all the childhood Play-Doh memories it evokes?