Armature for New Sculpture

[itsallart]

Hello forum,

I've been experimenting with creating sculptures with slabs and have now come to the point where I realize that I can only get so large with this technique before problems occur. So, with that in mind I came up with this economical method that I am hoping will work to get the same look, but using an armature inside of the "slabs" that will burn out during firing. The photos show the armature which is 4 layers of corrugate sandwiched together and cut into shapes. This is very sturdy and I plan on also putting in some toothpick and wood dowel reinforcements to help in that regard. This will get a layer of newspaper and then 1/4 inch of clay with grog applied to the entire thing with a few holes to let gases escape. This is 17 x 17 x 15 inches.

Hoping my experiment works, but does anyone here see any potential problems?

[itsallart]

Here is a piece I have ready to fire which is similar, to show the look I'm going for but without the pedestal concept.

[Andrew Werby]

If it dried without cracks, that's a good sign. With an armature like that, the cardboard is at its stiffest when the clay is wettest, but as the clay dries, the cardboard softens by absorbing moisture, so it will accommodate the clay shrinking without resisting it enough to cause cracks. It will shrink more during firing, but the heat also weakens the cardboard, so it should work okay.

Andrew Werby
Juxtamorph.com