How to Patina a Clay Sculpture

[Leaning Torso]Patina \pa-tee-na\ 1 
a: a usu. green film formed naturally on copper and bronze by long exposure or artificially (as by acids) and often valued aesthetically for its color
b: a surface appearance of something grown beautiful esp. with age or use 2: an appearance or aura that is derived from association, habit, or established character 3: a superficial covering or exterior
[Patina Step 1]Step 1: Repair the fired clay (terra-cotta) piece (as needed) with Durham's Rock Hard Water Putty* (generally found in hardware stores). Follow instructions on the can. Sand/shape as needed.
[Patina Step 2]Step 2: Paint entire piece with flat black spray paint.
Let dry for 24 hours.

Step 4: Buff wax to a sheen.

Step 5: Mix thoroughly into a liquid: About 1 tablespoon of mineral spirits
About 1/8 teaspoon of Johnson's Paste Wax

[Patina Step 6]Step 6: Paint on "red paint" using a brush dipped in the above mixture (medium) and red iron oxide powder. (Powder and medium mixed on a palette.) Allow to dry (appears dull). This powder and others can be obtained at a pottery supply store.
Step 7: Buff red lightly--mostly to remove the brush strokes. A circular motion is helpful. Some black will be seen under the red. (The key is to layer the colors in a semi-transparent way for depth.)

Step 8: Repeat steps 5-7 as needed until you get the look you want.

Step 9: Lightly brush piece with a thin layer of newly mixed medium (of step 5). The idea is to add more wax to the piece so the next powder will adhere.

[Patina Step 10]Step 10: Apply bronze metallic powder. DO NOT OVERDO (easier said than done)! We applied powder (after several other unsuccessful methods) by tapping a fingertip's worth of powder onto a chamois wrapped around a cottonball and lightly dusting the piece with the chamois. Then the piece was buffed with a clean chamois. After that, the piece was rubbed all over with our hands to try to make the metallic powder a little less overwhelming.

Step 11: Using a dry brush, dust on copper carbonate powder (pale green) all over, but more in the cracks and crevices--or to your taste.

Step 12: Stand back and admire your work.

*I have since had a problem with the Rock Hard Putty chipping in areas of stress (such as the bottom edges of the featured piece). To repair this before the piece was delivered to its new owner, the loose putty was chipped off and replaced with epoxy. Clear packaging tape was wrapped around the epoxy to help the epoxy conform to the desired shape. Once the epoxy was thoroughly dried (about a day), the tape pealed right off.


by Kelly and John Borsheim
Information provided by: http://www.borsheimarts.com