tmaddux on wed 16 may 01
I have a question about terra cotta clay. I am doing a sculpture of a
griffin, and I have several boxes of terra cotta that I was given. I am
wondering whether the material is strong enough to do the winged sections
of the sculpture. The piece is about 24 inches high. I plan to make the
cross section of the wings 1/4" thick followed by a hollow space then a
1/4" bottom thickness. The wing will be supported at the bottom and at a
support behind the wings.
I haven't worked with clay in several years, but this pieces has captured
my interest. Anyone have any ideas on whether the clay body will work, and
if not what clay body would work.
Thank you, Tim Maddux
Snail Scott on wed 16 may 01
At 09:22 AM 5/16/01 -0500, you wrote:
...terra cotta... I am
>wondering whether the material is strong enough to do the winged sections
>of the sculpture. The piece is about 24 inches high. I plan to make the
>cross section of the wings 1/4" thick followed by a hollow space then a
>1/4" bottom thickness.
>
>
>Thank you, Tim Maddux
>
I have done winged pieces larger than this. I work
mainly in stoneware, but have done terra cotta.
I have made wings as you describe, but used a
cross-rib structure inside. (Mine were a bit
thicker, but larger, too.) If the wings are going
to be vertical, you are probably OK. If they are
sticking out at an angle or horizontally, you
might want to consider options. I often build
such sections separately, and attach them after
firing. Depending on the angle, and wingspan,
terra cotta will probably resist warping pretty
well, but it all depends on your design, and on
your particular clay. 'Terra cotta' covers a
lot of territory, as a description.
p.s. remember to vent those hollow spaces!
-Snail
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