Expert: Nanetta Bananto - 6/18/2003

Question
wood ctafts, carpentry, plastic craft and similar
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I am pretty creative guy, went to art school for 4 years, can draw pretty good. I became interested in woodcrafts recently and similar. I like wood, carpentry. I played with it when I was young, but I didn't study it or worked professionally. I decided to work with it on professional level. I like to create something with my hands, like statues and similar. I like wood, because it is available material and it is easy to do crafts with it if you have instruments. I also like to do furniture and similar stuff with wood. There are courses in community college for carpentry, I wonder whether I should take them if I want to be a professional carpenter. I also interested in art side of carpentry - I want to make furniture and similar studd with art work in it. I also want to make woosen sculptures and similar art stuff. I am not familiar with it, I only looked through some books in my local bookstore. I don't know where to start. I prefer to start with small sculptures and wood carving. Maybe to do those beautiful wooden ships that some people like to use for decoration. Is there a school on this? I also wonder if there is other materials that are easy to make forms, so I can do sculptires, like plastic? I do not like breakeble stuff, like glass, or too solid material, like stone, iron.

Answer
Dear Tom - I found some kits for building wooden ships.  Try the link below:

http://www.hobbyworldinc.com/woodship23.html

Kits are a great way to try a new craft, especially if you are good at following instructions.  Classes are always a positive way to get hands-on instruction.  But the trick is finding one specific enough to your needs.  Check with the local university to see if they have some woodworking or begining sculpture classes.

The material I work with extensively is polymer Clay.  I use a brand called Premo primarily.  It is great for sculpting by hand.  It keeps it's shape well and bakes hard, but slightly flexible-which makes it less breakable.  It is made by polyform products.  I have several projects on this site-asian accordion proverb book is one.  

http://www.sculpey.com/

You can use aluminum foil inside a sculpture to make it less costly.  Of course, this will make it weigh less, so if you are looking for the weight-either bake it solid or sculpt around a rock.  You can sculpt over paper mache or cardboard.  You can make a form out of cardboard and build a skin of clay over that.  Just remember that whatever you build on must be able to withstand a 265 degree oven for at least twenty minutes.  You can bake the clay and then add more clay on top and bake again.  So you can sculpt in stages, building the body of the sculpture and then the detail.  You can join pieces with bent wire or toothpicks.  

This is a material that provides good modeling, durability and is easily attainable online or at most craft stores.  It comes in a range of colors and will not dry out if stored in ziplocs until baked.  Below are some links to check out.  Good luck and write again if you have more questions.  Nanetta

http://www.glassattic.com/

http://www.geocities.com/brentgena2000/OnesImagination.html

http://www.jaedworks.com/clayspot/

http://www.joshclay.com/gallery.html