Non-Cornstarch (removable
armatures)
...temp.stiffened w/ wax or glue
...bakeable,
to soften (veggies,etc.)
...water dissolvable
or softenable (grain products, papers,etc.)
Wax,
for hollow forms
Paperclay,
cardstock, papier mache
Cornstarch
based materials
.......uses
...cornstarch
"clays" ("cold porcelain," etc.)
......other cornstarch
clay recipes
Misc. materials
DISSOLVABLE
or
SOFTENABLE (removable)
armatures/forms
Non-cornstarch removable materials
Cornstarch
packing pellets &
clays
( for solid armatures which are removed intact --not dissolved or softened --see Vessels-Rock >Making Your Own Form ... and Vessels >Removable forms & releases )
Summary
of some things which could be used as removable armatures:
...dissolvable,
softenable, or meltable:
......many fruits and vegetables can be baked,
then dug out of the baked clay when cool
......tissues, or other paper products
like cardboard or papier mache boxes, will become limp and flexible enough after
wetting to remove
.....eggshells (can be removed later with vinegar soak (Eggs
>Vinegar Eggs)
.....cornstarch pellets can be wetted (after baking
with clay) to "melt" and remove
.....beeswax can be removed with heat (more
in Beads >"Holey Beads" >Wax)... and wax coatings
over other armatures to smooth
...physical barriers (if using
clay as a removable armature)
......putting a bit of paper, cardstock,
aluminum foil, or similar material between clay parts will act as a release (Vessels
>Removable Armatures)
......powders can form a barrier as well, but
they may or may not leave behind a residue
(coating with or using packed/piled cornstarch or talc, or most powders of various
types --even metallics or chalks (Powders)
......air
--such as with pillow beads
...releases...liquid or gel or paste or oil,
etc ...Molds
> Releases
.......Kato's Repel Gel (or its equivalent, "superglue solvent"...Glues-Diluent
>SuperGlue Solvents & RepelGel)
...... ArmorAll
.......other candidates (like Vaseline, mineral oil, etc.).... may work only
as releases between clay and non-clay materials such as metal,
glass, etc,
Beeswax .......for hollow figures
Then I turned to
trying to make a hollow figurine. My father told me once that sculptors make wax
models in order to make molds for the real sculptures, so one day I
took a regular
candle (very
bad decision...contemporary candles are not made
of wax)
... I covered the candle with clay, made a humanoid, drilled
a hole at approximately where the humanoid's butt is (so that during the baking
the wax becomes liquid and gets out of the figurine) and then proceeded to baking.
Never do what I did... the fumes from the melted
regular candle were terrible.
...After this
horrible experience I learned I needed ot use real wax (beeswax...the
byproduct of honey, 100% natural stuff). I used the method described above: a
crude shape, covering with clay, baking... the wax melts and pours out of the
figurine. It worked fine.
....at 275 or 257 degrees F, there were no fumes
when using beeswax
...another benefit was (this may be subjective opinion)
is that the figurines become a bit stronger.
.... I prepare the
wax for work as follows:
Take a ordinary pan and a chunk of wax. Melt
the wax. Let it cool. It forms a flat layer at the bottom of the pan. After the
wax is cool in the pan, warn very very-very lightly the pan and remove the wax.
The result is wax sheets that are thin, they become soft from the warmth
of the hands and are a pleasure to work with. (I used FimoSoft in
my experiments)
. . . .. Don't know if anyone used this technique or whether
you'd approve of it but I like it. Also I must mention that half of the concept
I owe to my father Ustinian. Boris
. . . the biggest thing I made is
a ball shape with hollow interior, diameter about 5 cm... clay coverage is about
4 mm thick and it holds ok. Boris
...Plus the wax should then be
reusable, right? after it melts out? Dawndove
.......It is reusable. Made
7 pieces with about 100 grams of it and continue to use it.
.... . . Not only
would the wax be reuseable, but I think you could slightly warm the piece, then
polish it with the wax ...the remaining wax on the surface would
make a really nice patina. (if you've ever done wax-resist Easter eggs, it would
be the same sort of result, I think...the beeswax is slightly heated, and then
rubbed around the surface, making a nice sheen and protective surface). Jennifer
...what
I am saying is that maybe for larger pieces (rigid) armature methods
and wax methods can be combined. ...maybe a net of stiff
armature, filled with wax or something of that sort. Boris
see also Desiree's lesson on making a bead in two separate layers by using the "lost wax method" in Beads > Hole-y
(see coating organic materials with a layer of wax to stiffen them temporarily, just below)
Stiffened temporarily with coating of wax or glue, etc. (not baked later)...
You
can temporarily coat things with melted wax to
give a smooth and somewhat tacky surface
...I
dip the cheese balls into melted beeswax to even out the shape, and to
help the clay stick. I melt the wax by putting chunks of it in a
clean tuna can, and then float it in a pot of water on the stove--sort of a double
boiler effect. I keep the heat very low, as beeswax is very flammable
......I
dip the crackers once or twice in the wax... and let cool.
......later, the warmth of your hands is enough to reshape things
to get a nice round shape.
......I do a bunch of crackers all at once, then
store them waiting for inspiration...the leftover wax just hardens in the
tuna can and is stored for the next time--no mess. Laura O.
...I build up several
layers....and when the wax starts to get too watery,
I take it off the heat and it thickens up a bit....that way I get a very
thick layer when I dip the cereal into the wax (I hold the cereal with
a pair of tweezers.) Edith
...I have made various pieces into shapes
such as hearts, houses and square blocks. Edith
...To melt the wax, have any of you tried the (plug-in) well-type heaters
intended for hot glue? I find that they stay at just the right temperature
to keep the wax liquid, without getting too hot. The hot glue heaters only cost
a few bucks at most craft stores.. . .and no open flames
...some people use
white glue afterwards to help adhere (clay) or even out the surface.
...After
cooling, wax could also be carved or impressed with hot
tools
cranberries! ...I was thrilled at how well they worked!!!
no explosion, no mess...Celie Fago sugested them, and what a great sugestion!!!
....skewer while frozen or fresh, paint with sobo/tacky/elmers
white glue, and go
.... they worked beautifully (they do get sort of
prunie/soggy after a couple of days, so use them
right away).
..totally dried veggies (beans, etc.), or fruit?
What about crumpling dried leaves, grass, flowers or sawdust into flakes, holding together with glue or maybe thinned with water?
sand or file the items (which items?) for smoothness or the shape you want, or cut with serrated knife. . . .or shape with a Dremel.
Bakable (to soften)
vegetables and fruits (some of them at least) can be used as armatures for creating forms under clay, then dug out or otherwise removed after baking:
Sue
(Heaser) showed how to use an aluminum foil-covered raw potato as a removable
armature to create a 3-D shape or vessel (leaving one side uncovered to remove
potato later) in her book Creative Home Decor
... for the 3-D heart she made,
she cut off the ends of the potato, then cut it in half lengthwise (leaving a
flat side)
... she then carved the heart shape removing all brown
skin...covered with foil all over, and then a layer of clay on all
but back side, embellished ... the potato needs to be baked for 45-60 min...
cool... dig out potato and remove alum. foil ...a back can be created in one of
the ways above if desired (...could be a bowl but interior would
be rough from crumpled foil)
..... I
like that idea because when you use a potato, you carve it to whatever
size and shape you find pleasing, and go from there (but when you use
a rock, you have to find just the right kind of rock with the right shape)...
Gabe
lemon.....I covered 3 lemons with a base layer
of clay ...the lemon came out after the base layer was baked
(how?... hole left??)
...for one, I covered the baked base layer with faux
abalone
...the other two became forms for a box and a hanging vessel
...Margaret Reid
http://members.aol.com/polyopoly/misc.htm#books
Water dissolvable or softenable
sugar
armature (http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Studios/1634/cangel.html)
..."One day while watching a craft program on TV, it showed how to make sugar
Christmas Decorations. The idea was so simple that I went and tried it out for
something other than Christmas Ornaments.
supplies: 1 cup white sugar,
1 tsp water... lesson:
1. Mix well in a small container. Recipe can
be reduced. I used 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of water and it was enough
for 3 angels. I used plastic chocolate molds, but any container can be used. To
make bells use a small glass.
2. Scoop mix with a small spoon into the form
you want to use. Make sure the mixture is well packed.
3. To unmold cover
with a piece of thin cardboard and flip over onto a flat surface.
4. Let
form rest for about an hour to let a crust form. The mixture exposed to the air
will harden.
a. For the angel, just let it fully harden for about a day or
two and then use it to make your craft.
b. For a bell, now is the time to
scoop out the center and then let it harden like the angel.
grain-based products
..The following
materials would be fine for polymer oven temps too....then be dissolved
out or softened with water?
(they were from a discussion
on materials which would burn out in
a kiln...Katie):
....I would stick with Planter's Cheese
Balls myself (as malted milk balls are way to good to not eat just
plain).
... once I started using cheese balls, I've found that I cruise the
grocery store with a completely different perspective, and now notice things like
unsalted Pretzel sticks (or knock off the salt crystals first), Kix
cereal, Chex, oyster crackers, graham crackers, etc.
...Nilla wafers are big, but have a nice curved surface.
...Japanese rice crackers... I carefully examine all the novelty
peanut and cracker mixes at the store, as they sometimes have
interesting shapes you wouldn't find in a single package. Laura O
...you
know Miniwheats make a nice hollow form for more squarish beads. Deric
.......actually
all kinds of dry cereal
...what about Cream of Wheat wetted
...and made into shapes?
other powdered grain or vegetable
materials may work in various ways, and be dissolvable in water later
....potato
starch -- leaves no residue
....
rice flour ---smaller particles and semi-transparent
...arrowroot
(...for
cornstarch, see below)
baking soda and salt mixture ... maybe making your own dissolvable balls out of that stuff would work?... I used to sculpt with it before I discovered polymer.
paper products of all kinds will soften
considerable when soaked in water.
..I used toilet
paper dampened with water
......I surrounded a baked bead
with it
......once it dried, I covered it with a layer of clay
which had cut-outs in it
......after baking,
I soaked it in water, and the TP washed away..... it did need a little
pursuading with a needle tool to remove all of it.
...could use Paperclay
instead?
PAPER CLAYs ...CARDSTOCK & cardboard & papier mache, etc.
Most
paper-based products like paperclays, cardstock, etc., can be softened
in water (after baking) so they can be removed from polymer items... this could
take awhile though or not be practical for certain items.
...for most of
the info about these materials, see: ....Armatures-perm.
> Paperclays, Mache.... Covering > Papier
Mache,Cardboard ...Sculpting > Other Clay
...
see also below in Misc. Materials
packing peanuts... pellets
Cornstarch
packing "peanuts" will dissolve when soaked in water,
so you can bake around them. Later if you expose the cornstarch to water, it will
melt away leaving only the baked clay behind.
.....Also packing peanuts
made from cassava from Brazil might be usable....the biggest were about
the length of my thumb. They were all sorts of shapes. I don't know if cutting
would work. I think they have lots of holes throughout them. But they are a lot
harder (than cornstarch ones). I'll have to see if I can get some. Jody B.
Zog
Log "cornstarch shapes" (my son used to have a set of this building
toy...DB)
...Imagine my surprise when I looked closely at the building
materials and they happened to all be made of the cornstarch stuff!; All kinds
of shapes and sizes. So of course I had him cover one of the big (2"x2") cylinders
with his choice of color and then use the 1/4" circle punch to cut out a pattern.
He then baked it, let it cool, then put it under warm running water.
It works just like the packing peanuts!!! He made his piece out of some neon orange
it is noe sitting on the christmas tree over a clear midget light; A really neat
effect.
....Yes, the Magic Nuudles
(by KidTech Tool) http://www.wetnset.com
are cornstarch and will work just fine (I work for the manufacturer, as their
representative - just as I work for Polyform Products). The white cornstarch peanuts
that can be bought by the box (for packing) may or may not be safe around children
(depends on the manufacturer, but I suspect most are not, according to my source)
(they may have been sprayed with a pesticide). Magic Nuudles *are* safe....in
fact, I've eaten them. They are children ASTM certified, and were created specifically
for the craft market.
........I found the colored ones at the local
craft store. Here they come in a large bag and are different colors. ...are nothing
more than the colored corn starch packing peanuts. The price was about $4.00 a
bag. However, at Michaels and other craft outlets you should expect to pay more..The
price at their website is $5.99 for the bag I got, plus $2.00 shipping.
Tamila
"blocks" of cornstarch are being sold by the Artifactory. Unfortunately, the shape is not solid, but rather a number of layers of corrugated sheets of cornstarch bonded loosely together, which makes sculpting anything smooth difficult. ...For more infol, contact artifactory@juno, 206-322-9233, Tues-Sat.
suppliers
of cornstarch packing peanuts:
.....I
got a big bag of (the large) tan cornstarch peanuts at Mailboxes, Etc.
for about $3.00.
I've seen them within the month in a pillow-sized bag for
under $5 at the U-Haul Rental lot, right next to the bubblewrap.
.....I
used to work at a new Barnes & Noble. When the warehouse shipped books
to our store they used biodegradable packing peanuts. You would not believe all
the ones we threw out. We had trash cans full that were the size of apartment
complex trash bins! We continued to get these things in regular shipments....you
might ask to see if they have any of these peanuts in their recieving rooms. In
case the booksellers you talk to don't know what you are talking about, the shipping
manager of the store would and I think the shipping managers usually work 9-5.
Maybe other bookstores use biodegradable peanuts too? -Laurie
Dogs
love to eat the cornstarch peanuts! ... and some have eaten quite a
number of them. No problem though. . .
.....(I disagree. . . cornstarch peanuts
used for packing are sometimes sprayed with
pesticides), so using them where children might stick 'em in their curious
'lil mouths, or such, means that caution should be used.... the only way to be
absolutely "sure" that cornstarch peanuts aren't covered with insecticides is
to buy a children's craft bag of "Nuudles" ...Elliiot
uses (cornstarch peanuts)
Since these cornstarch
peanuts stick to each other with moisture, one can also stick them
together, or on top of each other to create just about any size or shape
desired. Elliott
...the easiest way to dampen the peanuts is to have a damp
sponge next to your work space. Patty B.
...dampen
the peanuts slightly & stick them together (otherwise
too much wetness makes a gloppy sticky mess)
......
smooth them (with dampened fingers) Elizabeth
If
you dampen the cornstarch peanuts and moosh them into the shape you want and
then cover the shape completely with clay and try to bake it, there will be moisture
heating up inside your bead (or whatever shape) that might be enough to
crack the heck out of the clay as it hardens,
or it might 'only' cause a big ugly bubble.
...so
you should either let your cornstarch blob dry completely before
covering and baking
.......or put in a small hole, etc. to allow
the steam inside your clay to escape …Zig
I could never get the clay to stick to the cornstarch packing popcorns, but the clay will stick to itself if you wrap a snake of clay around the puff .first, then use that to anchor clay to
To make a ball-shaped bead, dampen one end of the ball and stick it to itself. ...you can cut the peanuts in half and add to this bead on the sides, and with a damp finger press them into the shape desired. Patty B
core
(armatures) can be made from cornstarch peanuts to
make large (but still lightweight) items
......I
made some 1 1/2" and 2" balls using cornstarch peanuts the inside of my
Noah's ark elephants
..... I used 2 to 4 of the peanuts scrunched up
tight and placed in the center of a # 1 (pasta machine) clay
sheet... then wrapped the clay sheet around it ...
shaped it into a ball.... and baked. It worked pretty well. Marty
....
If you cover the peanuts with foil before adding the clay,
you might want to poke a couple of holes in so that you can do that after
the item is baked. Lenora
I've used cornstarch
peanuts to make some long hollow beads. Lenora
...to
make a hollow tubular shaped bead.... roll your clay fairly thin, #3 or
#4 ... wrap the peanut with the clay, smoothing the edges and the ends.... poke
a hole with your needle tool all the way through the ends.... Bake.... Place the
beads in a pan, sink or bowl of water. they will allow water in through the pierced
ends and in a few minutes you can blow out the gooey remainder. Patty B.
Jody
B's Archaic Filigree beads (holey)
...I started with a baked
tube bead ....wrapped it with the cornstarch peanut so I
could work over that as a base. I'll save the rest for the article, but I bet
you could figure it out anyway! : ) Jody
I
used my Kemper extruder (clay gun) to make "spaghetti" strands of
Sculpey III, then wound those around a peanut to make a lacy open work
design.
Basically, you wrap clay entirely around one peanut, make a hole
through your bead, and bake.
After baking, soak your bead in
water; the peanut will dissolve and you'll have a lightweight, hollow bead.
....I did the same thing, but used strips of clay made with the noodle attachment
to my Atlas pasta maker!
they can be shaped with a little moisture and finger
pressure in case you'd like something smaller than the full nut. I suspect also
that because they get somewhat gummy when they're moistened, one might be able
to "glue" them together to form larger shapes than the single peanut, giving them
uses beyond making just the hollow lacework beads people have talked about.
.
. . Hummm. . . Think I will try this (the net result will be lacy balls within
lacy balls.) .... apply strips of clay to a small ball of foam in an
open lacy network then bake.... build up another thin layer of
(cornstarch) foam around this ball and do another layer of clay network .....bake.....
Repeat two or three more layers..... Then disolve all foam. Lysle
......For
a lacy effect, extrude strands of clay or roll some very thin, then wrap the peanut
with the strands going in various directions.
..........you can also
bury either a clay, glass or metal bead inside the peanut and then
wrap. Bake. When the peanut is dissolved out, you will have a solid bead within
a lacy bead.
.........( actually, you can do this, more than twice:
Place one bead inside the peanut, cover with strands of clay... cover this with
a layer of peanuts which you have flattened, then cover this with another layer
of clay in strands.... If you make each layer a different color,
the results are pretty neat). Patty B.
...(see
also Desiree's bead like this in Canes/Wax)
Violette's clay cage made of ropes (website gone)
....I made some bird cages around the puffs. . . . First I made a bird
or a rainbow out of clay and baked it
..... then I squished the puffs around
it , made a cage out of thin ropes, baked the cage,and dissolved the puffs out
after cooling.
...... I sent the cage to a friend who needed cheering
up and told her to dissolve out the puffs and find
the treasure inside.
...Kellies oblong "cage"
bead (hollow) http://www.kelliesklay.homestead.com/beads.html
for
an bead or item inside your "hollow" bead
...
you could push a glass bead(s), crystals, natural stone, polymer
clay bead, or a tiny bell, etc. into the center of a biodegradable
(cornstarch) peanut
.......to make a larger bead, slightly moisten
your finger and rub it on one of the peanuts and it will then stick to the other
peanut (so you can surround the first peanut)
... you can cut up the peanuts
into slices or chunks to design the basic shape of your bead (which
could even be a pendant when you are through).
... once the enclosed bead is
covered with the peanuts, add your clay ...(since this is to be hollow,
I suggest a strong clay such as Premo, Fimo or Kato)
......this can
be in single strands, small cut outs of clay stuck to each other
all over the surface, or with a continuous sheet of clay.
....... be
sure to have 2 openings if it is to be a bead so it
can be strung they don't have to be directly opposite if you want the bead to
hang differently... for a pendant, you might consider having your extra hole some
place where it isn't noticeable)
....bake your clay at the recommended
time and temperature
...let cool ... then soak the baked bead
in a bowl of water a few minutes and then begin to shake out the remaining "goo"....inish
up with a bit of running water. ...dry your bead... and finish as desired.
..One
hint for hanging a hollow bead or pendant is to insert either
sterling or craft wire into the bead before adding the clay so that once you are
finished, the wire is in place to either attach to other beads with a loop or
to turn the wire into a bail for a pendant.
..Remember a bead doesn't have
to be round to be a bead. Think about other shapes like ovals, tubes, cubes,
hearts, stars, moons or any other shape you might want to create (Santa's face,
or a snowman, anyone?). Patty B.
misc.
You don't have to remove the peanuts after baking . . . . I used the peanuts one time to make a domed lid (hollow?) to fit on a votive glass that I was making into a jack o'lantern and a removable lid complete with stem. Patty B.
I made some surprise beads and other small clay pieces
for someone in the hospital.
...after baking each bead or piece, I covered
it with cornstarch peanuts, moistening a bit so they'd form a solid covering
...then
gave instructions to drop one peanut-covered item into a bowl of water
to dissolve off the cornstarch covering and get one clay surprise each day. Diane
B.
I pretty much gave up on the peanuts...
they weren't very easy to "configure"
(into shapes I wanted)...
....they also weren't
very easily smoothed so the inside of whatever
you molded around it would have those markings
on it
...and I couldn't get the "base" layer
of clay to stick to the cornstarch Zig
I
wonder if tightly gathering a bunch of the peanuts (or finely
chopped pieces) inside a piece of plastic wrap
or netting of some kind, then misting with a tiny bit of water,
would allow you to shape the whole thing from the outside?
.... Could
this work to make more scuptural forms? (it can be done with plaster) DB
What
about winding beading wire around something like a disolvable peanut
pellet . . . Nora Jean
These noodles or peanuts can also be wrapped around a wire armature and covered with clay to make a light weight body for what might be a bit heavy pin. Think fish, frog, crab, sea horse, teddy bear, etc. A 2" clay pin might be a bit heavy if it is solid clay, but the peanut foam is much lighter than an interior of solid clay. However, be sure and use a #1 layer of clay for the body so it isn't easily crushed. Patty B.
To help keep the skirts of my figures spread and intact while baking, I use a bit of biodegradable packing peanut up each one. Janey
"cold porcelain"
"cold
porcelain" clays (purchased, or can be made but that version
isn't as satisfactory?)
....for
most info on the air drying clay (often called "cold porcelain",
but also known by diff. brand names in South America, England, Japan, etc.) which
is made with cornstarch and white glue, etc. (not dissolvable... at least
after it's dry)
(for more
on cold porcelain clays --purchased or made at home-- see also Sculpting
>Clays >Cold Porcelain )
some
recipes:
1...3/4 cup of white glue 1 cup cornstarch 1/2 cup of water 1
teaspoon of cold cream 1 teaspoon of glycerin ...Mix wet ingredients until smooth
over medium heat. Cook for a few minutes and add cornstarch. Stir continually
until it forms a ball, remove from pan and mix thoroughly with hands do not refrigerate.
Keep in an airtight bag.... use chalk powder to color, or paint with any paint
when dry. Use cold cream to moisten mold and/or when you are working with it,
if it becomes sticky.. Or ..dust with cornstarch
2...another recipe: 1/4 cup
of water 1/4 cup of cornstarch 1/4 cup of Bicarb soda Mix all ingredients together
and cook (stirring) until it forms a ball. This is used the same as above.
cornstarch & glue + cold cream + glycerin
promising
recipe for special dough from Carol Duvall Show
.....ornaments, by Sylvia
Gomez http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/crafting/article/0,,HGTV_3352_1383427,00.html
(lessons):
..(one cup cornstarch, wooden spoon, one cup (white?)
glue, one tablespoon of cold cream, one tablespoon of glycerin,
Teflon pan, 1/2 cup water)
1. Place cornstarch in a plastic
bowl and make a well in the center. Add water little by little and pound the mixture
gently with wooden spoon. Do not stir. If lumps appear, use thumb to smash.
2. Add glue all at once, stirring with wooden spoon. Add cold cream and glycerin
then move it all into a Teflon pan. (especially recommended).
Heat over
a low temperature while stirring with the wooden spoon for 3-5 min. until it looks
like paste.
3. Remove the mixture from the pan and place it on counter to
dry for 10 minutes . If the mixture is too dry, knead in small amounts of water
using your hands. If the clay is too sticky, knead in small amounts of cornstarch
using your hands.
4. With cold cream on hands, knead the dough
until there are no lumps. Store the dough in plastic bags until ready to use.
(will shrink 20-30% while drying... drying takes
longer in a cold climate --to quicken, place the clay in a scrap of cotton material
it's drying)
(see also Sculpting > Clays > Other Clays > Cold Porcelain for a sculptable mixture which may be quite similar to this, using "cornstarch and glues"... that "must be sealed after sculpting or it will dissolve in water")
(DB... sort all material in Misc-Temporary temporary Dreamweaver page on cold porcelains, and put somewhere with this)
cornstarch,
corn oil + water clay (???)
(use wet or dry?)
I
started with a paste of cornstarch and water, formed it
into a ball, then let it air dry. It may not have been strong enough
- maybe I needed more or less water in the mix.
1TBS.
cornstarch in a zip lock bag
2 drops corn oil
1TBS. water
.....Squish around in th bag to mix...then microwave on HI for 20
- 25 seconds ...make sure to leave the bag open .
. . or boom!.
.....Remove as soon as it can be handled.
.....Build your
bead around this but leave a way for the water to get inside and
dissolve after firing. Denise
..."At this
point the mixture has turned to a hot gel which solidifies (sort
of) as it cools -- -it remains flexible
..it can be formed into simple shapes
or pushed into a mold to harden.
..left to cool in a flat or pattie
shape, it can be cut when cooled-with a knife or cookie cutter."
.....
I tried this but with very poor results-I used olive
oil..and that does not work! Icky! Corn oil
is what is needed. Mary
... Thanks for reminding me! I always meant to
try that! Just remember, DON"T SEAL THE BAGGIE when you microwave it! It can blow
up! Jody B.
I messed with this stuff a couple of years
ago - if you keep it in a ziploc bag, it will stay workable for
a few days.
(before drying?):
...The main problems I had with it
are first, that it's not very moldable and second,
that it seems to swell in the
oven.
...You can't put a shell of raw clay around it and cook it without
leaving lots of open areas for the goop to expand out
of - even then, it might force breaks in the clay shell.
...It leaves a rough
interior on the clay you're forming around it,
...and removing
the baked goop is very difficult - I boiled
the piece and scrubbed the interior with a toothbrush.
However, if you make a shape that you want, and leave it to dry so that you don't have that expansion thing going, the shape will shrivel up into something odd and crusty and warty looking.... so I guess it's not all bad. *g*
The cornstarch peanuts are a lot better for me, especially
to make those beads that Jody wrote instructions for in B&B. Elizabeth (which
recipe?)
I tried that receipe, and did not have good results. It did not dissovle well at all. (which recipe?)
cornstarch, white glue, glycerine, Vaseline, citric & stearic acids, sodium benzoate (+ formalin?)
I made my own dough several
times and got excellent results (here's the recipe for 2.2 lbs --can cut
cut recipe in half?):
...vinyl glue (permanent white glue) 1 kg... cornstarch
500 g ...sodium benzoate 1 tbsp ...stearic acid 1 tbsp... 1 1/2 tsp citric acid
..glycerine 2 tbsp ...Vaseline 3 tbsp ...Formalin (formaldehyde)
to prevent fungus (necessary?), 1tbsp (be careful
when handling formaldehyde, is very volatile and dangerous if you breathe).
Place
the cornstarch in a Teflon container, then add the glue stirring with wooden spoon
to dissolve any lumps. Integrate.
...Add the glycerin, sodium benzoate, stearic
acid, citric acid and vaseline. Mix and (heat to) minimum naked flame. Cook fifteen
to twenty minutes, stirring with long wooden spoon.
...Slowly begin to thicken
and take on the preparation aspect of ricotta (grains, such as cut). Do not stop
stirring. The preparation will be separating from the pan and join completely.
It is time to remove it from the fire.
...Knead on table until cool... add
the formalin and knead again.
....Place in a plastic bag and store in an airtight
container out of the fridge. After 24 hours, can be modeled.
Notes:
It is important to knead until the mix is cool, and then add formalin and knead
again (otherwise, you can grow fungus)
To remove any (excess?) moisture, change
the packaging after the first 24 hours. Gabyta
other cornstarch clay recipes
Lucille's pages on
various cold porcelain recipes + tips ...plus using cold porcelain
to embellish eggs
http://members.tripod.com/~LuJS/coldporcelain.html
(no
glue)
....Carol Duvall's favorite cornstarch recipe is the one that for many
years appeared on the side of the Argo Cornstarch package:
1 cup cornstarch
+ 2 cups of baking soda (one pound package) ....1-1/4 cup cold water
... she created little people & trees (for her Holiday Village)
with this clay
http://origin-www.hgtv.com/crafting/carols-holiday-village/index.html
...Lucille
also shows a recipe for equal parts of cornstarch, baking soda,
and water
which
recipe was this?
What i did (to use this with polymer
clay) was:
....make cores for larger basic shape type focal beads
....let it dry completly (I even put some in a very low temp oven
to get them good and dry)
...then cover the starch bead with polymer
clay.
...bake the whole thing, making sure to at least have
a starter hole for dissolving the starch
...I then sand and
buff the bead with the starch still inside
...once you are happy with the
finished bead, drop it in a bowl of soapy water (...I do take a drill
bit and kind of drill into the starch through the holes I leave in the clay
layer to speed up the dissolve)
. . . . So far it is working wonderfully well......
I would not recomend this for small beads (too much
work involved) but for large lightweight beads i think this will be better than
using foil...Denita
I know you haven't done this yet, but do you think that
the dough would be strong enough to create holey beads (like vinegar
eggs)? And do you think it would work for armature forms for sculpting
--say, a pig or even a human?? Diane B.
I think it would work for "holey"
beads if you use the same principal that you use with the viniger eggs
(now for the aramature for a form, just have to try and see)...the clay
seems to hold shape pretty good if you get it to the right consistency...i
keep adding starch to stiffen it up a little at a time, and
i did put some into a face mold and it held the detail.
....it does
shrink when drying, so that is something to
think about if you are going to do a sculpture. Denita
(add
other recipes often with salt or bread from Word file?)
polystyrene foams ... can
also use polystyrene foams (Styrofoam, packing foams, etc.) as armatures to create
hollow forms in two ways
....ps foam can removed from clay after baking
if it's left partly exposed (without being covered w foil--which will cause
it to shrink more)
(can also be left in the clay by completely
covering the ps with aluminum foil (or baby oil perhaps), then baking
....for
more details (plus discussion of shrinking or melting rates and fumes)
see Covering
> Plastics > #6 Polystyrene
Christine Taylor makes very
realistic hollow animal sculpts by creating a drawing the shape she wants
to create #-3 on a sheet of paper ... then cuts it out and uses the hole
left in the paper as a guide whilte carving (with files,etc.) a polystyrene
foam (by continually trying to pass it through the shaped hole)
...
when satisfied, she covers the form with a layer of Sculpt-A-Mold
and Creative Paperclay rather than polymer clay(which will be
the base for the hollow form)
....after drying, she makes registration
marks, cuts the form open and removes the foam
(she wasn't sure whether it was safe to bake the Styrofoam)
...she reseals
the form and finishes drying it completely in the oven
...she then
covers the form with clay
...bakes the piece a long time...
sands.... finishes with Varathane
(... she sands small or awkward parts before
adding them)
ping pong balls are also one kind of plastic (celluloid) that can be baked as long as they are covered with clay... it may shink and shrivel inside the hollow clay, but not until after the clay shell is heated enough to keep its shape (...for technique and ideas re covering ping pong balls, see Covering > Plastics > Other Plastics)
for a cheap and easy-to-carve "block material" (even for kids) for creating 3-D forms, see vermiculite and plaster mix in Carving > "Carving" Sculptures (this is not removable though?)