It is not easy – or hardly even possible – to get a Mosebacke Horse to balance if it only stands on its own hind legs. Especially as these legs are very close together. Also a clay figure of that size must have a skeleton – an armature, otherwise it would collapse when the clay softens during sculpting and curing.
So the sculpting process started by drilling a hole in a small log. I selected and cut a steel wire to the right length (the length of the standing horse) and then inserted it into the hole. Then I wrapped it with some thinner wire. The reason for this is to help the clay to adhere better and also to help the armature for arms/forelegs to stay in place.
Of course the skeleton of these forelegs was also made of steel wire. Making the armature is a time-consuming job, and I often get small wounds from the sharp wire.
I used aluminum foil to create the actual body shape. Aluminum is often necessary when working with polymer clay – if the layers of clay become too thick tensions that can cause cracking may occur during curing. That is why I never let the layers of clay to be thicker than a few centimeters.
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