How can I make a good clay for a school project?

Can I use clay to make a model of a mission? My son needs to make one for a school project.?

• I'm wondering if I need supports to hold the clay together or is there other materials I I can use to make a good looking mission. Also any ideas for the tiled roof?

• Answer:

  Yes, you can use clay but it depends on how large of a model you are making. If you go with clay and it is pretty large you will probably want some wire mesh to serve as an armature. You can also use bass wood and or straws to hold things up. It will be easier and lighter if you use foam core and then kind of stucco it over with gesso for the right texture. You can buy lots of different kinds of gesso for rougher or smooth texture, or just add things to it yourself. Foam core can also be sanded or roughed up for a more ruinous look. Cut out the walls of the mission with a sharp utility knife or exacto knife. Glue and or pin the model walls together with straight pins. I find that it's easier to get the walls to stay in place when drying by either taping or pinning them as I go. You can buy plastic roofing tiles in sheets by a company called Plastruct if you want something super easy. If you want to go the cheap way just cut some pieces of cardboard and scallop them by folding them around a pencil or something of the right diameter. You could use thickish paper as well. A tip: print out pictures of the mission (as many different views as possible) in a size close as possible to the size (or scale) that you will be working in. It will be easier to duplicate that way.