#1, bugs are not attracted to any kind of sculpting clay. If you’re using water-based clay (terra cotta, the kind that has to be fired in a kiln), yes, it is actually DIRT, but it’s been cleaned and there is nothing food-like in it to attract bugs. You’d be in more danger of bugs getting stuck in your clay from it being outside than from them “infesting” it. No worries there. Go ahead and work inside.

If you’re using water-based clay, it can be reused if it hasn’t dried out completely. You just have to wet it again and work the water all the way through it. If you’re using an oil-based clay like plastilene/plasticene (same product, different names depending on who made it), you can use it for YEARS – it never hardens or dries out. Plastilene has dirt in it too – you may find little “rocks” (teeny ones) in it from time to time – but it is oil-based instead of water-based and just doesn’t dry out. I actually save my plastilene reliefs I make for trophies in case I need to make a new mold on them, and it’s a good thing I do that – a 15 year old silicon mold just “died” and I have 10 years worth of trophies to make with it, so I’m going to touch up the clay original and make a new mold of it.

Super Sculpey, Fimo and various other bright-colored clays are polymer clays. They will harden over time, and they can actually bake in their boxes if the delivery truck gets too hot (someone at the Sculpey factory told me this). If you use a Sculpey, Fimo, Premo or other polymer clay product, always press on the raw clay with your finger to see if it gives fairly easily. If not, it may not be fresh and won’t work as well as it should.

Only an expert sculptor will use a metal armature under water-based clay. That job is not for beginners. You do use one under plastilene. If you use Super Sculpey, you can build an armature out of crushed aluminum foil (you’re supposed to use only a thin layer of Super Sculpey on your sculptures, so the foil makes up the majority of the mass).

You only need an armature to support things, such as if you have a person standing on two legs in water-based clay. The weight of the clay will make his legs sag or collapse (same with horses, which is why you rarely see them in terra-cotta without a blanket or rock under their bellies to support them). If you’re using plastilene, the wire armature is not going to be strong enough to support the weight of the clay, which is why you build the armature on a pipe.

The photo I’ve inserted shows an old work-in-progress (it’s been bronze since 2010, I think). The plumbing pipe is 3/8″ wide by however high I wanted it. Twisted wires like the one shown as the tail in this picture go through a plumbing T that’s at the top of the pipe. That wire goes all the way to his head. Two more twisted wires go through the T to support each set (front and back leg) of legs. Toothpicks are shoved in the T to hold the wires in place. Once the wires are tight, you cut off the excess length of the toothpicks and cover them with clay to protect your fingers from being scratched as you work. The arrnature pipe is supporting the horse, not the wires.

There are armatures that will support your sculpture, depending on what your design is, but you have to plan in advance what kind of piece it is, how much of it is on the plinth (base), where the armature will go, etc. For instance, you could weld iron rebar together in a teepee shape and build a life-size Labrador that’s sitting up (for instance) with his front feet, hind legs, rump and tail on the ground or base, the rest of him supported by the armature. That would work because the base is so broad and the armature so strong. If you tried doing that with water-based clay, you’d have to wait until it was almost leather-hard (I think – Sculpture Dolls can be more precise about this timing), cut it apart, remove the armature and hollow the sculpture out until it’s only an inch of clay thick all over the piece (otherwise, it can cause problems when fired and be TERRIBLY heavy!). This cutting apart and hollowing is why I said this process is for an experienced sculptor, not a beginner (unless the beginner has a teacher helping him). If the same piece were cast in bronze, it would be cast hollow to have the highest-quality surface and not be ridiculously heavy.

I’ve thrown a lot of information at you. I can be more detailed if I know what kind of clay you’re using. Sculpture Dolls works in water-based clay, so she’s the go-to expert around here for that. I work in plastilene and Super Sculpey, and I know a bit about various other things too, but plastilene is what I normally use.

Don’t worry about bugs. They won’t be attracted to any kind of clay unless you spill Popsicle drippings on them or something.

I’m glad I could help.