This afternoon started out like many other afternoons, cruising through the internet, looking at blogs and photos, hoping for inspiration, advice and help. Trying something new with no previous instruction is hard and I wouldn't even know where to begin to try to find instruction for what I'm doing. I decided that I wanted to try this next figurative piece using a new material, paper clay, instead of my usual polymer clay. The instructions on the package weren't exactly helpful. Add water if needed and wrap anything left in an airtight container, you can sand it...Ok, got it. I didn't realize how quickly it would start to feel dry on my fingertips and I felt panicked about having to sculpt in a hurry, having little time to fine-tune it before it started to dry.
I worry about the structure and that I didn't think this through enough ahead of time. The head is stuffed with foil, but the neck is just solid paper clay. Will it crack? Was I supposed to use something for armature? Oh boy, I probably should have used a wire for added strength through whatever that thing is on his head. I made it, I should have a sense of what it is. I'm going to say it's a sort of hat. Yup, it's a hat. Now I have to figure out when it's dry enough to handle. Maybe I'll just ignore it for a few days while I work on something else, just to be safe. At least I made something, even if it was just a learning experience.
