Cover a Wire Armature
An armature is the skeleton inside a sculpture. Armatures may be used for different media, such as plaster and clay. In the case of either medium, the wire must be covered by something that the medium can cling to before the sculpting can proceed.
In the case of a plaster sculpture, to cover the wire, rags are torn into strips and dipped into wet plaster, then wrapped around the wire armature and left to dry. When the rags have set, the structure is slathered with wet plaster, which builds up the form. After the top layer of plaster is dried, it is carved down into the shape the artist intended.
In the case of clay sculpture, the armature is covered by newspaper, which then serves as a support for the object.
Instructions
Plaster Sculpture
1. Tear the rags into strips approximately 1 inch wide and 5 to 6 inches in length. Paper towels can be used instead.
2. Place the armature on a table over a tarp or drop cloth. Place the rags beside the armature and the bucket of wet plaster beside the rags.
3. Dip a rag into the wet plaster, then remove it.
4. Begin to wrap or drape the rags anywhere on the armature that will conveniently hold them. The strips of rags can be draped over horizontal surfaces or wrapped around slender vertical surfaces.
5. As you proceed, use the friction and surface area created by the rags already attached to the structure. Wrap quickly but deliberately.
6. After the entire structure has been wrapped in a layer of rags, smooth down any bulges or areas where the end of a strip may be sticking out.
7. Dip your fingers in the wet plaster and apply the plaster to the structure to reinforce the rags, or to smooth down any rumpled rags still left over.
Clay Sculpture
8. Place the wire armature on the table in front of you. Crumple up several balls of newspaper and position them inside the wire armature structure, assuming the wire armature has an "inside" and "outside." If the wire armature is only a vertical stick figure, skip Steps 2 and 3.
9. Build up the balls of newspaper inside the wire structure until it is filled.
10. Wrap newspaper around the exterior of the wire structure. Use tape if necessary to keep the newspaper clinging to the armature.
11. Build up the layers of newspaper around the armature until the structure is large enough to build the clay up around it. The appropriate size will be a judgment call-you'll want the wrapped armature to be smaller than you want the finished clay structure to be, but large enough that the clay can easily be built to the appropriate size around it.
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