MATERIALS: Clay used to build up mask, which kind?

1. • Terra 8 months, 1 week ago

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   • Hello,

     I'm looking at starting a new hobby in mask making, and I'm wondering what type of clay to use to build up details for a mask.

     I'm a fairly impatient person on a budget, and I was wondering what type of clay is best to use. Would an air dry clay coated with vaseline work as a mask base for a paper mache mask?

     I'd like to know what type of clay I ought to be looking at, and how easy it is to model and how long it takes to dry. I was thinking of traditional pottery clay - like the stuff you'd find in a pottery room at a local arts school or something... I'm not sure what that would be called - I've only ever taken a pottery course back in junior high.

     Thanks very much, all help is greatly appreciated.

2. • AlanC 7 months, 4 weeks ago

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   • Hi Terra,

     traditional pottery clay is what I use as a base for papier mache masks - with air dry clay, it is likely to go hard before you have finished modelling. I went to a pottery supplier and got about 10 kilos of clay for about ?7 ($12 approx). If you are modelling with this and need to put it away, ensure your model is on a wooden board or similar, cover the clay with a damp cloth and wrap in a black plastic bag - this should keep the clay pliable.

     Also if you were intending to create a plaster cast of your clay 'positive' mask, using vaseline on the clay with stop the plaster of paris sticking to it!

     Hope this helps.

     Al
     

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