What type of clay?

Shelli2

Hi All, I'm planning a small project, unlike anything I've done before and could use some advice.

I'm sculpting a small water feature for my mother as a present, want to use some natural rock and clay to build the feature.

Can anyone tell me what kind of clay I should use? Must be grey in colour and air drying (I don't have a kiln). Needs to be water proof when dry, or if not what should I coat it with to make it waterproof? I'll also need a decent amount of it, so as cheap as possible.

Thanks.

breadandjam

I don't think there is any air drying clay that is waterproof when dry and unless you're going to coat it with fibre glass resin there's no way to waterproof it.

Have you thought about trying cement instead.

There's a very useful thread on wetcanvas about using cement as a sculpture medium

http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84498

Shelli2

Thanks a million, I had thought of concrete, but my first instinct was that it would need a mould and be poured into it, and as such would be much harder to incorporate the natural stones in the way I want.

One post in that thread talks about a 'patching concrete' which sounds ideal, now I just need to find somewhere in Dublin that sells it. Have you ever heard of it? Is it called the same thing in Ireland?

breadandjam

patching concrete could be the American version of redimix? maybe? Or exterior polyfilla

One way I have heard of doing it without a mould is to build a chickenwire frame for the form you want, stuff it with paper or cardboard and then lay the cement on with a trowel. I think you could get a good result if you finished it off with palette knives