Amazing Pottery

what is the best kind of earth clay for detailed sculptures?

I am looking for a clay that is smooth and plastic, the pottery clay at school seems more sticky and gritty then I want for making realistic sculptures. So what kind of clay is best for realistic detailed sculptures?

Public Comments

1. Sounds like you want a white or red earthenware clay that has little or no 'grog' in it. Don't use stoneware clay for sculpture if you can help it as the thickness of the sculpture has problems during the 'Quartz-inversion' phase of firing and could crack if fired too fast. But on that note, all clays are used for sculpture - even porcelain, just easier to use a lowfire earthenware.
2. Maybe you can use a combination of clays. I don't know what you are sculpting. For doing a certain size the clay behaves better if it has some grog in it. When I do a human figure 10 " tall the grog gives strength to the arms and legs. Grog is fired clay that has then been broken up and put through a screen to eliminate pieces that are too large. You might be able to get some clay. I was taught starting with high-fire stoneware. --- Keep a portion for putting where you are having problems with too much grit. ---Wedge some grog in to the majority of the clay so it will have more body. -- to smooth you could paint a little with slip you make from taking some of the clay that is being used and adding water to make a thin mud. ( smooth an area that is clunking up and then let dry a little then sharped the details.) For the stickiness, try letting the clay dry for an hour or so. --One way to speed up drying is to wedge on a plaster slab. The dry plaster will absorb moisture. -- one way to speed drying is to put in the sun or in-front of a fan --------------------------- If you are working very small, porcelain would be one option. It feels almost like cream cheese. It is very fine but you do not have much support.