Can I use low fire ceramic clay to sculpt masks? (Not high.)

[Antonis13]

I can't find anywhere WED clay in Greece, and if I get it from another country the clay and the transportation will be too much money for the clay that I get.

So, can I use High fire ceramic clay to sculpt masks?

 

[udog]

You can. Some high temp plasters carry grog or chammote. This gives a texture to the clay, maybe you don´t want that.
Lower temp clays will do, a standard for sculpting since very long ago. You should find that without problems if you can find high temp ones. The cheapest one (SiO2, usually red) will do perfect, there are others that are grey etc. but the red one is ok.
The main difference between WED and normal pottery water based clay is that WED substitutes water for glycerine or similar, so it doesn´t dry out. Also WED might have more plasticity when working with it. But the main difference you must take in account is that with normal water based pottery clay you must take care of it so it doesn´t dry by pulverizing water on it every time you stop working with it and covering it with plastic to preserve moisture. This can be tricky as there will be sculpting stages when you will want the surface to harden a little, for example for detailing. So there you must control how much you wet it, or not. Sometimes you will have to leave it uncovered etc. WIll depend on the room temp too. Summer will not be the same as winter.
All in all, this kind of clay has been used for sculpting for a very, very long time.
Also you will have to take care not using too thin section or sculpting very small things as it dries out or cracks (due to drying) more easily.

 

[udog]

Some high temp plasters

I meant "clays", not "plasters"

 

[udog]

I´m sure you will be able to find the Low Temp red clay. It´s a standard for sculpting in general and for pottery in particular (normal building bricks for example should be made of that). Cheaper than the High temp ones, and more suitable. You can also recycle it after finishing and molding it and use it again and again for other sculpts.
I have two bathtubs full of this in the studio.

 

[Antonis13]

You can. Some high temp plasters carry grog or chammote. This gives a texture to the clay, maybe you don´t want that.
Lower temp clays will do, a standard for sculpting since very long ago. You should find that without problems if you can find high temp ones. The cheapest one (SiO2, usually red) will do perfect, there are others that are grey etc. but the red one is ok.
The main difference between WED and normal pottery water based clay is that WED substitutes water for glycerine or similar, so it doesn´t dry out. Also WED might have more plasticity when working with it. But the main difference you must take in account is that with normal water based pottery clay you must take care of it so it doesn´t dry by pulverizing water on it every time you stop working with it and covering it with plastic to preserve moisture. This can be tricky as there will be sculpting stages when you will want the surface to harden a little, for example for detailing. So there you must control how much you wet it, or not. Sometimes you will have to leave it uncovered etc. WIll depend on the room temp too. Summer will not be the same as winter.
All in all, this kind of clay has been used for sculpting for a very, very long time.
Also you will have to take care not using too thin section or sculpting very small things as it dries out or cracks (due to drying) more easily.

Thank you very much for your reply!
I found red clay like you said 25kg for 15 euros.

 

[udog]

I found red clay like you said 25kg for 15 euros.

That's it. Just take care of the drying I mentioned. And remember it's recyclable, don't throw it away when finished. If you store it in some kind of bin or bucket and every now and then water it you got it for a long time. Even if it went hard you can fix it with water.
Like having a pet. When using it recycled you must knead it well so the clay is homogene
It's a bit messy and for very fine detail oil or wax based clay is better but on the other hand you can move fast sculpting with it and it's cheap. I has it's own techniques, some different to working with others. Feel free to ask.
Good in many cases for mold dividing walls too
P.D. And don't let it harden inside the mold nor let it go hard before molding, I mean, don't mold with plaster and leave it for a week without opening or similar. Clay must always be soft and workable.