At 08:57 AM 3/13/02 -0800, you wrote:

>. . . . could he use some wire for an armature and leave it  to melt.
out in

>the kiln.  Would this work?

>susie


Wire is probably not suitable in clay to be fired because the clay has to
dry before firing.  It shrinks as it dries.  Since the wire does not
shrink, the clay cracks.  Simple forms can be made around wads of paper
that compress as the clay shrinks.  Punch a hole in the bottom to vent
the piece.  


The one exception might be to use paperclay, but I have not tried this
myself.  Paperclay has lots of paper pulp mixed with the clay and it may
dry without cracking.  It is much more forgiving.  It can be fired like
regular clay.  I would test it with a very simple quick form of the same
size before spending lots of time on a figure.  Ordinary steel wire will
be damaged by the firing, but that may not be a problem.  Protect the
kiln bottom or kiln shelf with a slab of fired clay to be on the safe
side.  There are ads in <italic>Ceramics Monthly </italic>to buy
paperclay, or you can make your own by blending paper in water and mixing
it with clay.


Sculptors do work on metal armatures with Plasticine (oil based clay) (or
pottery clay that is not permitted to dry).  These are not fired, but
piece molds are made from them.  The sculpture is then cast in the
molds.


Marvin

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