Traditional and Transformative Materials

Stone such as limestone, basalt, marble, and other dense, fine-grained stones have been used in prehistory to create durable and imposing objects. Using chisels, mallets, and rasps, stone carvers can create remarkably delicate forms with an amazing array of textures.
Clay essentially made from refined earth can be hand-formed using coil, slab, and carving techniques. When fired, it becomes extremely durable and can be decorated with beautiful colored glazes.
Metals such as bronze, gold, silver, copper, pewter, and brass are more commonly used for jewelry and utensils. Most metals can be cast, forged, soldered, etched, and stamped.

My sister crafted this metal city in her jewelry class

Wood readily available in most areas is inherently beautiful, easily painted, relatively lightweight, and surprisingly versatile.It can be carved, steam-formed, and assembled using various hinged and joints.
Glass, which is made primarily from silica, can be transparent or opaque and, with the addition of copper, cadmium, cobalt, and other materials, can take on a complete range of colors. In its molten state, it can be poured, blown, pressed into molds, drawn into threads, stamped, and extruded.
Fibers covers a wide range of linear materials, including strips of willow, bamboo, and reeds, as well as the more familiar cotton, linen, silk, and wool. Most fibers can be painted or dyed and can be worked in many ways, including weaving, braiding, knotting, knitting, and felting.
Plastics can be transparent, translucent, or opaque, and formed into sheets and then cut and assembled. Plastics are lightweight, varied in color, and relatively cheap and many types can also be extruded, cast, vacuum-formed, and stamped.
Many artists today deliberately use ephemera (materials that rapidly decay) or trash (which is already in a state of decay).

I carved this tiki dude out of soap