OH,..........CLAY?

HIGH PLAINS WATCHER $55 U.S.

Painted in Acrylic on 9" X 12" 140 lb paper.

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Dan Bunch
2236 Co. Rd. 314
Cleburne, TX
76031
Howdy,

In TEXAS ya gotta take the highs with the.........highs? High today 52 F. High tomorrow? 32 F ! Unbelieveable? Not inTEXAS.

The reason that no TEXANS booed the singer whenever she missed a few of the lyrics in our favorite song, (other than YELLOW Rose of TEXAS:) was that they put up pictures of our Veterans on the overhead projector. Thus the "Yahooo"! (Or so I am told here. I didn't / don't watch the sb) Splans' it.........

(Yellow Rose of Texas is about a mulotta, a "yellow" gal that took up the "time" of the Emperor while spilling his plans of battle to the Texans:)

The clay I use is called "Marbelex" a light gray, self-hardening, air dray clay. (ain't sure about spelling). It is good consistancy. It can be wet again to re-constitute it after it has dried. It can be "welded" together, or "mended", or "fill in the cracks" or added to, by using vinegar and water with a small bit of the clay.

Never use a hard armature. The clay shrinks when drying and will crack. I use wads of paper sometimes. I use toothpicks and matchsticks, and long meat skewers (if I have them). at times. Very little steel wire, as it should be pulled out afterwards.

The clay will air dry evenly usually. Thicker walls must be avoided as that causes cracks. Clean up is wash your hands and throw away the newspaper you used on the table.

Never fire in kiln! You can paint the clay with acrylic. What I do is give the clay several coats of gesso after it drys a few days. Then I can paint or leave it white.

I have always looked at stores for cheap clay. In a town named, Alvorado, TX, which is nearby, there is good clay to dig up that you can sculpt and kiln dry. I have a bit of it made into a bowl by some local artist. Has a leaf design on it.
When I was a very young child, my father dug ditches for a Gas Co. in Texas. He brought home arrowheads, and he brought home a waxy, blueish, to grayish, clay. Natural and great stuff. We used to form indians on horseback, complete with weapons, shields, long lances. Then fire them in a low temp oven with raw peanuts on a shallow pan. Eat the peanuts, watch the ice/snow fall, and play hours and days with the new "toys". Great childhood. Nasty adulthood. (Yeah, I'm a veteran of the Vietnam war. NOT a "vetnam veteran"! I actually fought for America:) Anyway, there is usually a place where you can dig your own within miles of your home. Ask the local Ag Extension Agent (or equvilent in your state) for locations. Also you could ask CORP of ENGENEERS, etc.

I found some clay that is ten lbs for $7.47 at Hobby lobby. It was in the children's craft area. It is pretty good for general "get yer hands in it". It will throw a bit. It is good for bowls and such. It shrinks way too much for armature work. It will harden much like the Marbelex. When it is dry it stays hard and can be painted. It turns a white/off-white. A solid Horse can be formed, but a "man" with wire armatures will just crack to pieces.

The cheap clay.......in using it in forms, it shrunk too much almost a 1/4"! And no way you can use wire or stiff armatures. And that makes it good only for throwing, and or bowls and such. Good "Kid play clay" though. I got it in the kids area of Hobby Lobby in Temple, TX. It was in kids crafts area. Named, "Air Dry Modeling Clay" and cost $7.47. (guess I could tell that on the Clay forum. Someone is always lookin' for kids craft clay that is cheap)

Later,
Dan
TX