An Introduction To Aves
What is Aves?
Aves is the manufacturer of some of the finest sculpting and taxidermy materials on the planet from Aves Studio. They make a variety of clay materials.
I have been using Aves Apoxie Sculpt for about 5 years now, and I think it is an amazing sculpting medium. I have worked with other clay media, such as wet clays, polymer clays and oil based clays and each are good in their own area of sculpting, pottery, or crafts. But Aves products are a permanent medium, that will never fall apart, break, or degrade. And it does that without being fired. That is what keeps me coming back to epoxy clay as my favorite medium
Apoxie Sculpt?
Apoxie Sculpt is Aves brand name of a two-part modeling compound. When it is mixed properly, it will remain pliable for about 3 hours, allowing you to sculpt and work it into shape. It is user-friendly, safe and easy to use. It has no nasty fumes and it’s non-hazardous. It is great for working at home or in a studio setting. Parts A and B are mixed in equal proportions. It comes in many colors.
Natural colored Apoxie® Sculpt seems to be a good, all around medium that allows for high detail. Colors like red and orange are good for large smooth areas as these colors tend to show imperfections well pointing where you need to spend more time to gain a super smooth surface.
The Bronze colored Apoxie has a nice rich bronze color. They use real bronze particles in it to give it a slight bronze sheen. The white gives a bright base that can be glazed with color for deep rich finish.
What Kind of Tools Can Be Used?
Just about any tool will work, plastic, silicon tipped, wood and metal. The key factor with epoxy clays and tools is to keep whatever kind of tool you use clean. Remember that the great thing about epoxy clay is that will stick to most anything, adhere diverse kinds of materials together, and cure hard as a rock. That includes tools! So keep the tools clean as you use them.
My preference is metal tools. They are strong, keep whatever edge they start with, and clean up pretty easily when done as used.
What Is Aves Safety Solvent?
Aves Safety Solvent has a number of uses. One for what we just talked about – cleaning your tools. Not only does it clean them it can be used as a lubricant to allow the tool to slide smoothly across the clay allowing smooth surfaces and sharp edges. It is low odor and does not stain your clothes.
Working Time Is Always A Question
At normal room temperature, around 72 degrees, you have approximately 3 hours. Temperature and humidity can effect this time. In the hot dry part of summer here in Texas, I have had Apoxie Sculpt go past where I want to work with in an hour, but in color high humidity times it may wait several hours before it begins to get too hard work.
The amount of epoxy clay you are working with will also effect the time. The thicker the application, the faster it will cure. If you’re making a big ball of it. A 4″ thick block or ball will harden in a shorter time than a styrofoam ball covered with a thin layer. Using foam, aluminum foil, wood block, pvc pipe, and many other things on the inside allows you more working time and saves a lot of the epoxy clay.
What About Durability?
As I said before, I have been working with epoxy clays for 5 years. So I have 5-year-old pieces that look just like they did the day I made them. Several years ago I bought a clay outdoor fire pit. It was damaged at the store with pieces broken out of the front of pit area so I bought it with all the pieces very cheap! I put it back together with epoxy clay and used it regularly. The repaired portions still look the same as when repaired with no change at all.
Give Apoxie Sculpt a try. Order from our online store and start having some fun!
