A sculpture this size requires 1000+ lbs of clay and up to 800 pounds of molds. So whatever you do, the armature has to be able to hold a ton. Honestly, that is simply not that much — when you can weld!

(If you don’t have access to welding equipment, this work can also be done with wood, but it is a lot heavier. In fact, until about 50 years ago, all sculptures of this size were done with wood armatures.)

I welded this steel base and glued together the cardboard sections with hot glue. The wood struts keep them from flopping around. I folded out the centers of the small cross-sections to make them firmer.

More photos of the base after the jump.

It is shocking just how strong this stuff is. It will hold the weight of the clay and molds just fine. Remember, molds will double the weight of the piece, so build accordingly.

Here is the swivel joint I welded to the base. This allows me to swing the sculpture around 360 degrees and swivel her up and down. In a small studio, it’s wonderful to move the sculpture to better lighting conditions and get access to the high parts.