CraftPals
Wedging Polymers
Posted by Lavender on January 12, 1998 at 07:56:22:
In Reply to: Wedging Polymers? posted by kallen on January 11,
Good grief guys -- what in the world is wedging? I read on a web site
(just like CJ suggested) to take aluminum foil and "build" whatever
shape you want and then cover with clay. Well, this weekend I did
that and made a rather pretty egg using Donna Kato's Belingese (sp?)
style for the design. And of course doing one project leads you to
another so now I have a blown egg that I'm starting to cover.
Clay really does get a hold on you doesn't it?
Hi Lavender ~ Don't mean to confuse you. I learned how to work with clay
that came in powder form,
had to mix with water, knead, then cut in half, throw onto a table, throw
the second half onto the first,
and repeat several times which is the "wedge"ing part. Sure got rid of
frustrations.
You did this for white or red clays. You could mold, sculpt, or make more
liquid than solid and pour into molds. This is generally know as ceramics
that have to be fired in a kiln. That's why the polymers intrigue me so!
If you really want to get rid of frustrations, throw a bit of clay on
the table. Otherwise, the polymers are
definately a neat alternative in more ways than one!!!
Hope this brief explanation helped, kallen :)
Posted by CJ on January 11,
Nope. Polymer clay can't be real thick, but it can be built up in layers
between bakings in order to get the correct size you want. It's expensive,
but can be done. A much easier way is to wad up some paper or foil and
use that as the inside of the piece you are making. It wont be necessary
to take it out when done. This is what I did to a large [about 6"]
smiling tooth with toolbelt and hard hat for my dentist [long story].
Just make the inside out of something that will survive the heat but not
let off fumes, and cover with a layer of waste clay [mud].
Bake for 10 minutes, then when cooled [you can take this out of the
oven when the baking time has been reached] you cover with another
layer of clay. If you will be only adding a few layers, you might
want to stick with the color of clay you will be using for the outside.
If you will be putting more than 3 layers on,
you could probably get by with using more mud as the next few layers.
Polymer clay can explode, but that's probably a pretty extreme situation.
There is a thread about it on the clay ng, but I forgot what the original
posting is about already. :-/
You dont have to worry about air in the of your item, so you dont have
to put in a hole to let it escape during baking.