Made by Joanne Gennarella
Young girl – earth clay over my usual paper and glue armature. Not finished – this is work in progress.
Young Girl
Made by Joanne Gennarella
Young girl – earth clay over my usual paper and glue armature. Not finished – this is work in progress.
Includes Jonni’s famous Paper Mache Clay recipe, and tips on choosing the right recipe for your next project.
One more thing JOnni and then I’ll stop bothering you today. Do you think that expoxy sculpt is really strong – stronger than say – DAS?
I haven’t tested either one. Apoxy Sculpt dries very hard, like plastic, and I haven’t chipped anything I’ve made with it. But I’ve only made one thing with DAS. The bunny doesn’t live here any more, but the last time I saw him he was doing fine.
If anyone cares to try and have success with this unconventional use of air dry or potter’s clay and wants to use this method you are welcome to try it but it is tricky.
Also note that the armature is not a simple one – it often looks complete with just the glue and strips after that is done but I love natural clay – sorry Jonni – I do love your recipes too.
The glue is very strong – it is usually a combination of Elmer’s plus wallpaper glue – no water, never flour and water. Maybe this adds to the strength of the overall piece.
Jonni or anybody – if you can suggest how I might preserve my hard work after the cracks and clay are all perfect – I would appreciate it.
In other words – before I paint the clay I want to preserve it but still have a nice surface to paint on – waterproofing natural clay is a must.
I will post two completed people that I have made using ‘ my method’ Thanks Jonni.
One more thing Jonni – in my next life – I am coming back as Michaelangelo, and thus will never have any sculpting issues/problems ever again. (just kidding)
its air dry clay by Laguna – think its natural clay from dirt, etc. How do I keep it from cracking – I DON’T – when it cracks I patiently go over the cracks till they stop coming back.. As a last resort if I can’t erase them by the original clay – DAS to the rescue – this covers all cracks while never cracking itself. Happy New Year Jonni.
Also – to those readers and yourself – if I did this by the pro method of using a stick armature with newspaper, masking tape, then hollowing out the sculpt when it is leather hard – I am pretty sure the cracks would not form as insistently but I don’t do this method, thus more cracking.
Gosh, that does sound like a lot of work. Do you seal the clay after it’s dry? I still have a small hear-shaped piece that my grandson made years ago out of WED clay, a wet clay that isn’t intended for firing. My cat recently knocked it off the shelf but it just chipped a bit, and didn’t shatter. But it was only about 1/2″ thick, about 3″ wide, and solid. That might be why it didn’t crack when it dried. I think the WED clay has a few additives that helps is not crack, because it’s used as a replacement for more expensive oil-based clay when making large sculptures that will used as models for castings. It was not designed to be used for permanent sculptures all by itself, but my grandson managed to get away with it, anyway. 🙂
Yes Jonni – lots of work but if I could somehow seal my sculpts so they don’t damage I will continue. Any suggestions ?
Acrylic varnish is the only thing I can think of. The author of this page said that Mod Podge or acrylic paint will help an air dry clay item be stronger. (Her book looks like a great resource for parents. Easy, colorful projects.)
what author?/book
oh gotcha on the book\
do you think podge is a great paint ground though?
I’ve never used it, so I don’t know.
Thanks, Joanne. I have a question for you, and I hope it doesn’t sound too silly. But what is “earth clay?” Is it the water-based clay that potters use? If so, how do you keep it from cracking and falling off the armature?