Clay Over a Styrofoam Base

The Styrofoam base provides the bulk and minimizes the amount of clay needed to complete your sculpture. Many clay products work well for this.

STEP ONE: Start with a block of foam at least 2 inches (5cm) thick. Draw a basic head shape on paper and then cut it out and trace the shape on the foam.

STEP TWO: With a serrated knife, cut out the rough head shape.

STEP THREE: Shape the head with either a rasp file or a serrated knife.

STEP FOUR: Drill the center of a squared-off wood block (the base) and insert a dowel, then place your shaped foam onto the other end. Apply a layer of paper mache to the head, adding eyes, ears, nose, mouth and any other features you want.

STEP FIVE: Paint or cover the wood base with printed paper and paint the dowel.

STEP SIX: After the paper mache has dried thoroughly, paint the head and add embellishments as desired.

STEP SEVEN: Once all pieces are finished and dried, apply glue to the holes in the block and head, and insert the dowel.