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Do you need armature for air dry clay?
Unlike traditional materials, air dry clay doesn’t need to undergo a lot of heat to become hard, so the armature stays put. An integrated armature is great – it provides a lot of extra strength to the sculpture for its entire life. Better yet, you’re able to use a variety of different materials to construct one.
Can you fire clay with wire inside?
Kanthal A-1 High Temp Wire can be fired in a kiln, with a melting point of 2730 degrees F. it can be used as a decorative accent on pottery, as loops for kiln fired jewelry, or as an armature wire to support beads or small objects during firing.
Can you use wire in clay?
You can use a wire armature to stiffen the extended parts of a Sculpy (polymer clay) figure, and bake it without the piece cracking, unlike the way ceramic clay behaves. Try 16 gauge baling wire, 14 gauge copper ground wire, or 12 gauge aluminum ground wire, they all will work.
Why are armatures used in air dry clay?
An armature is the inner support system of a sculpture, and they are crucial to making strong and delicate forms in air dry clay. Since wire is one of the most common materials for armatures, I thought I’d give it some special attention.
Do you need armature for plasteline clay?
Internal wire support (known as armature) is required for some types of clay sculpting (eg. plasteline, wax and polymer clays etc). Ceramic clays generally do not require this degree of internal wire support. On this page you can benefit from my 20 years professional experience.
What kind of wire to use for clay armatures?
Brass – A good option when rigidity is required, however; the same thing that makes this wire strong, makes it quite inflexible and difficult to shape. Even something as high as 22 gauge (more on that below) can be tricky to work with.
How to make an armature for clay sculpting?
For all the different sizes of figure I sculpt (8″, 10″, 15″ etc), I have a diagram which I call an “armature guide”. Simply a scaled down pin-man (lady) drawing. This then serves as a ready reference when making the wire armature pin-man.