What clay can I use to create figures and decorations without the use of a kiln?
In high school, I was in ceramics and I made a piggy bank and different creatures with modeling clay that was glazed and fired in a kiln.
I would really like to be able to continue making creatures at home but i can't afford a kiln.
What
Air dry or polymer clay.
Air dry is not baked although at low settings a warm oven can be used to dry it faster.

One of the ancient kilns in the porcelain factory Royal Limoges on the banks of the river Vienne
A shot taken at a tile and brickworks in Barton Upon Humber. Shot with my Bronica SQ-a with some Fuji 400H. Ha ha shit, just realized i didnt totally crop out the film edge.
A view of a pottery works in Stoke-on-Trent. Bottle kilns such as this dominated the urban landscape of the Potteries until the late 20th century, though due to changes in the industry few now remain.
Abandoned calcine kilns at top of Chimney Bank, Rosedale, North Yorkshire, UK, May 2009