Can this sculpture be saved?

by Jerry
(Norfolk, VA)

I took a sculpture class for five evenings. We were also to work at home. I made a female figure kneeling with arms outstretched on a 1 to 3 inch scale. At home I built it on an armature only to learn that it had to be removed. I did that and put the pieces back together and hollowed out much of the inside. Was told to let it dry by leaving plastic cover open at bottom. In two days it went from brown to nearly white--way too fast. First one hairline crack appeared. It took about a week to get the figure back to damp-brown. Each day as it took up water more and more fine cracks appeared which I repaired. Most of the repairs did not re-crack. This has been going on for over a week. If the cracking stops, I doubt that it will survive the kiln. I love this thing. I can not believe I created it. I want to preserve it somehow. What are my options?

Thank you, Jerry


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Peter (admin) says:

One of two things. If you have funds, get it molded so you can reproduce in bronze or other medium. DO NOT dry out if you are taking this route.

OR

If firing, check this method out with your teachers who will know their clay better than me (they might have told you not to try to re-hydrate a too dried out piece), but I would leave it to sloooowly dry out, ignoring any hair cracks until it is solid dry. Then work in tiny areas of clay into the cracks one at a time, observing the results and taking careful decisions.

Where you made a decision which was WRONG and not careful enough was to re-hydrate clay once it had gone off to the extent it had. Clay can NEVER get its original properties back once dried over a certain factor of dryness. You should have just covered up and asked around - just like you did here after the event. It might be too late for it, but each case is individual.

If you want to cast for ceramic production (or bronze for that matter) you need to speak to the blocker (mold-maker) before you do anything else because they may need to cut your sculpt for piece molds which they can't do dry - has to be leather.

The main two things which make pieces break up in the kiln are air-bubbles (over-rated as a reason for breaking up, actually), or the piece not being dried out properly on the inside, although appearing bone dry on the outside. Any moisture at all will be fatal. This is a patience issue. People just want to get it done, and pay the price.

Good luck in your rescue. Everything to with clay creation has to be careful and considered - all the more so if the finished item seems spontaneous to the viewer.

Peter (admin)