Thank you Catdoodler, nicely put. I have found a couple wonderful
links that will answer most of your clay questions too. I found one
that just dealt with covering an egg:

How To Make A Clay Egg
by byrd tetzlaff
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/march2001/eggs.html

I also found a link that covers a vast amount of clay techniques.
They are easy to follow and nicely photographed. There is even a
tutorial that shows you how to clean your pasta maker! How nice!
VERY useful "stuff" on this link and it's free,no books to buy. It's
a warm and FRIENDLY place to find what you need. One of the links has
a place where you can ask questions too, again, warm and FRIENDLY.
Here is the most helpful link I've found yet:
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/tutorials.html

I would also like to thank those who emailed me personally with tips
and instructions, it was greatly appreciated.