Ball-jointed dolls interested me very much for a while, but impressed me so much I had to drop everything and make my own BJD.
Well, I have not seen a BJD in real life, only on internet – but I am not scared! … I think… Somebody pass me the salts…
[UPDATE - I think I should clarify the matter. What I would like to attempt to do is to apply BJD techniques to the traditional OOAK dolls - in other words, BJD on a smaller scale, using polymer clay, , tubing, etc - all the materials I am used to. So it will not be exactly a BJD, as we know it, but I would like it to work like one].
First thing - I got to read SOMETHING on the matter, I suppose. So I got a book
Now, the book is in Chinese. A Japanese (original) version is also available, but getting it in Japanese would not help me either. Well, no fear. The pictures are very clear, I will use what I can figure out and add to it my own ways as I learn. If I must read something, I will find a Chinese-speaking person to help me, I am sure.
I also read a bit about BJD on google - looked at the pictures, etc. And lastly, I was thinking about it for a couple of weeks every night before going to sleep - picturing in my head the mechanics of the ball joints from what I saw on the web and deciding which kind I would like to try first - there are several types of ball joints and it is hard to know which one I prefer. So, to start with, I made a drawing on how to go about it using the materials that I already know and have in my studio. It is a good start. I am prepared to find that some of the mechanics as I see them now might not work and I am not worried about it. Once I know what does not work, I will be closer to finding the ways that do work.
So, off I go.
Rough drawing of all the parts - something to start with The elbow and knee joints can be a single-ball joint and a double-ball joint. I will go with a single-ball joint for the time-being - I think it is easier and next time will try a double-ball joint.
Proportions of my future doll - taken from the book.
Printout - it is 12 inches tall (about 30.5 cm)
a ball cut out of styrofoam and mixed .
Mixed goes over styrofoam to make a core for the head. There are holes for eyes, for neck and also a trace line around the head - to remove the head "lid" later.
Here is the chest (upper part of the torso) - again, mixed around a piece of styrofoam
Lower part of the torso - same thing
Pieces of and temporary ball joints - they serve somewhat like spacer beads so that I could sculpt around them keeping the proportions. When the doll is sculpted, fired and cut at the joints, I will replace the ball joint.
Hand armature:
Pieces of , painted with and covered with shredded cotton ball (I used a q-tip), removed some cotton from it, cut it into small pieces with scissors.
Rotate gently between your fingers, to evenly coat the wire. Then tied it together with sewing thread.
Spread out the fingers, made a hand palm from .
Same thing for the feet (well, almost the same).
And here is what I have as of now. Out of time, will continue tomorrow.
Thank you for watching!
The cured and of course, I couldn't wait to string her together. Right now she is strung temporarily - with a simple string.
Then I couldn't help playing with her a little bit -it is going to be a LOT OF FUN to make her, I already feel it!
Ok, until tomorrow - for real this time - I need to ship a lot of packages - mailman will be coming soon.
January 4, 2010
Well, that head I made out of magic sculpt - no good, cannot use it. Started new one out of clay - inside there is a 5/32 and a temporarily ball in the neck. Traditionally, it takes me 3 days to make a head - and that is an improvement from 7 days a few months ago. So, here you go - the result of the Day 1. Will try again tonight or tomorrow morning. I wish I could just improve on this one but I doubt it - there is no room for the chin - the chin is too close to the neck. So, unfortunately, need to start from scratch. Talk to you later - thank you for watching.
Made another head - still not good. Will continue.
January 7, 2009
Yet another head - better! I ran out of time - it still needs work, but I am happier. The clay is .
Also first experiments with ankle joint. The only elastic I have here is an elastic tie for turkey cooking. It is too thick, but works - until I get a better elastic.
The metal inside the joint is a piece of . There is a small straight piece going across the ball and an S-hook hooked to that little piece. The joint works, although the slot is too long and the range of movement is too wide for a human ankle - in other words, human ankle joint does not move that far. But this is something easy to correct - just decrease the slot by adding a little clay and rebaking.
January 08, 2010
Good morning. After more poking at the head, I baked it. Then sanded. Then covered with a very thin layer of the mixture of and - to cover the sanding marks. Baked again. She looks pretty good, I think. The ball joint works! The head is strung with a simple rubber band at the moment. I am going to make the socket for the ball a little more snug - by adding clay and rebaking, but the general concept - the head is posable and retains the position when posed - polymer clay surface has a very good grip on another polymer clay surface.
Here is what I have - thank you for watching talk to you later
January 9, 2010
Good morning! I was thinking about how to go about the chest - where the elastic strings need to cross - and here is what I came up with, let us see if it works.
I had a power outage all day yesterday and couldn't recharge my camera - so I will just draw what I did with the chest.
Of course, I can't help playing with the little I have
About the hands - the wire armature did not work - it is too thick for this size of hands. So I used another idea.
I wish I could take pictures yesterday - no electricity, but I hope it is clear from the drawings. It actually worked very well, I liked this way. The cotton thread ends sticking out of the fingers help to move fingers around while working on them. When I say thick cotton thread - it is really thick - I am not sure what kind it is - the picture is below. The hands are baked and I have been trimming the irregularities and bumps gently with the scalpel. I will need to sand hands a bit, add tiny bits of clay here and there, cover it with liquid clay and rebake later. That is all for today - thank you for watching and good weekend to you!
January 10, 2010
This morning session was wasted because of a rather annoying accident. I made a part out of - chest cross, put it into the oven to cure - without any protection, just plopped it on the glass. The got fused to the bowl of the oven - with a deadly grip. I spend about 40 minutes chiseling Magic Sculpt from the glass - with an exacto knife and a chisel and a hammer!! At every blow of the hammer I was pretty sure the bowl is going to explode into pieces. It did not, although I did scratch the bottom. Took an awful oath to NEVER do it again. I put the next part on a plate sprayed with a tiny bit of Pam (cooking oil spray - for my non-American readers) and wiped almost clean - much better - the ball slid right off. Meanwhile, the time has passed and I had to stop.
By the way, the reason I was making the chess cross out of is the following - I made it first out of clay, baked - the slides inside the clay up and down, left and right. I would rather have them stable there. I also decided to make all ball joints out of magic sculpt, with a layer of clay on the surface, so that the wire hooks and stay there deadset. The clay is not strong enough for this type of action. Anyway - will continue later.
January 14, 2010
Good morning - back to my BJD after a break. Things were busy with the Morezmore sales and also I had a power outage AGAIN. Decided to go buy a generator - got it, we set it up and it is ready to go for the next time.
I put a little bit more work in - here is what I have - will continue tomorrow. Those two separate constructions - one of them (the chest one) has four and the tummy bead has three . If it looks unclear, it will make more sense when I put the clay around it. The beads and are very strongly fused together with .
January 15, 2010
Good morning, I have a little more - more clay bulk on the body - baked - now I will be able to add a rather thin layer of clay on the surface and sculpt the body details. I am also going to make another pair of hands and feet - with new a hook structure made out of magic sculpt and wire. Here is what I have - thank you for watching
Wow Nat,
That is cool. I especially like the hands & feet, as I have really never seen how you do them. I am glad I finally have seen how you set up the hands and feet, I had wondered how your hands could be strong enough to keep the fingers from breaking easily.
I was intrigued with your ball joint idea and had never really thought about the mechanics of it, but it is really just like the old spool dolls that are strung together with beads (large wooden for head and smaller for joints) and spools for the body (larger) & bones (smaller) of arms & legs. Then strung altogether with string. I hadn’t thought about them being a basic foundation for the ball jointed doll. As I was looking at the first pics I was trying to figure out how you got it to bend, but once I realized how it was set up I remembered the spool dolls I used to make as a kid & then with my daughter & nieces as an adult. I can’t wait to see what you will do with this.
Pam
thank you, Marina, – it is a great link!
Pam, what you are describing sounds very close.
This one will be all about trial and error. The ball-joint idea is not mine, lol, BJD are all over the internet – they are mass produced. However, there are many artists who work in this field – making one of a kind BJD – that is the one I am interested in, but in polymer clay, not air-dry clay.
thank you for watching – will be back tomorrow.
OMG, Natasha, I’ve been talking about learning how to make a bjd. I check in on your blog and voila! there it is!
If you look at my facebook page, you’ll see an ongoing conversation I had with several other artists about Marina and her wonderful dolls. We have been so excited for Marina, selling Lily for $40K! That’s wonderful and her dolls are worth it! So beautiful. Her website also shows how she makes the dolls and the measurements and how they are strung. She uses small steel springs. I’m going to have a hand at it too and can’t wait for your adventure. Maybe we can figure this thing out together! LOL You are so good at this type of engineering problem, you will have it done and made before I can even finish reading about making one! LOL
Natasha,
The head looks pretty good to me. I was about to say that I am not sure I understand what you mean about the neck ball being too close to the chin, then I looked at it again and realized what you mean. It probably needs to be a bit farther back, huh? Having not really looked at other BJD’s, I am not versed in where they should be positioned. Although, thinking of how my own neck/head are aligned for movement, I think the ball would not only be a bit farther back, but also a bit deeper into the head. I am not sure that makes any sense or that it will work for the BJD, but behind the jaw a little is where my head/neck seem to articulate. Also, the bottom edge of the ball seems like it would be about even with the jaw line, what do you think? Does that sound about right? Try looking in the mirror and move your head in ways that you expect the BJD’s head to move and see where the areas of movement are in your own neck. I was just doing it at the computer and feeling around my neck area to estimate where the ball might sit.
I know you will figure it out, you always do. I hope that this helps a little. Keep up the wonderful process, & I will keep watching & tell you how great you are doing.
Pam
I just bought the book myself, but I ordered from a webshop in Japan. Saved me a lot of money! I am following your work. It is very inspirational. Keep up the good work. Hope the weather is ok in your part of the world. Kindly frpm Ann
Karen, thank you – what is your facebook page – let me know so that I can link to it. I agree Marina’s dolls are a wonder!
Pam – thank you – yep, that was also a problem – about the neck – yesterday’s head was a disaster – folded already Keeping up! thank you for watching!
Thank you, Ann! The weather is still cold, snow on the ground, but just a little bit
Hi, Natasha. I’ll send you a private message. I really love what you have done so far. The face is perfect. This is going to be a beautiful doll, I just know it.
I am so thankful that you are so willing to share your adventures with us. It’s so inspiring.
Hello Natasha,
What a generous spirit you are!! I came across your eBay store quite by accident about a month ago while looking for mohair. I was totally amazed at the wealth of information you are sharing with people via your blog. I am a porcelain artist, and have been for more than 30 years. In the 1990′s I discovered poly clay and took all of Jack Johnston’s seminars. It was so liberating as an artist to be able to sculpt a character in one step and not have to worry about sculpting a clay model ever mindful of undercuts, and then go through the mold making process. I became discouraged however with all of the moonies, burning, broken fingers, etc. that kept happening. I felt like it was ME and not the sculpting process that was at fault. Not wanting to sell a product I wasn’t 100% sure was perfect, I went back to porcelain.
I learned more about working with clay from your blogs than I ever did in the Johnston seminars! I’ve learned about so many new (to me) products that make the whole pre-sculpting process easier and more dependable. The fact that all of the products you use are available in your ebay store is also great.
It is so true that one learns from one’s mistakes. But how nice it is to learn from someone elses mistakes! and not have to go through the whole process a thousand times before finally “getting it”. So thank you for not only showing the how to do it…but the how NOT to do it! Most artists would never consider showing their mistakes….a GREAT artist would.
I will continue working in porcelain but will now begin to again sculpt in clay…thanks to you.
Your blog is like a soap opera…can’t wait for the next installment each day to see your progress and learn a new process in the creation of a new little character.
Your BJD project is VERY interesting. What a gutsy thing to do!! Thank you so very much for bringing us along with you on your journey of artistic discovery…warts and all!
Kay
Sorry to hear about your Magic Sculpt/oven near disaster. I quite understand the “never do that again” attitude. It can be infuriating when you do something that you know better than doing, but either you are side tracked or in some kind of funk or just not paying attention to what you are doing until something like your oven adhering trouble and you vow to forever pay attention and not do that again. For those of us who are smart enough to actually not do it again it is a learning experience. Fortunately you have discovered how to adhere Magic sculpt in a nearly permanent way to your glass oven. So, now if you ever want to do something similar on purpose you know just how to do it. I always look on the bright side. You may want to make a sculpt that is a fixed to some oven tempered glass and now you can.
Pam
lol, thank you Pam, – that is a good way to look at it. yes, magic sculpt is a beast – it will adhere to anything. I am catching up on the inventory – not sculpting – Brandon (my help) and I are making things – cutting fur, making samples, organizing the shelves and packing-shipping of course. The sales picked up after the new year and things got busier. The two power outages since the beginning of the year sent me to buy a generator – I got it, a good one – it is set up and ready to go for the next time. Thank you, sweetheart – I hope to continue with BJD tomorrow>
Just to clarify the statement, “For those of us who are smart enough …” I don’t want anyone to think that I was stating that you are not one of those smart enough, I figured it was pretty obvious that you are in the smart enough group. I just want to be sure that no one takes offense in the way I stated it.
I take it you have to make a new chest cross for your doll. I am sure it will be better than the last one and at least you know it will not stick to the oven this time.
On a completely different line of thought, how do you accomplish the smiley faces in your posts? I have tried the usual ways, but only got the original colon right parentheses and not the icon version you have in your posts. So, give up the secret, please!
Not that I like them overly much, but they look much better than the old fashion one I have to use. Thanks in advance, please!
Pam
lol, this craft requires being in a smart enough group, lol
Yes, I made the new chest cross and also the hip triangle – check it out – I just put the picture up. Looks freaky, but I am pretty sure it will work – see the outline on the proportions printout underneath.
Your smiley look like little faces to me, exactly like mine – no secret – I just put the colon and braket, like you do, my browser makes them look this way – on your posts as well.
It would work since I was begging. It didn’t work the last time I tried it on the Little shopper page.
I like what you have done with the body So you aren’t going to have it be articulated between the chest and belly? Or did I miss something? I still haven’t really grasped what you described with the hands, but I am trying.
Pam
I finally got the strings in the hand. Somehow I missed the word armature when I was reading what you wrote.
So from the body sculpt it looks like you do have an area of articulation between the chest and belly, but I am not sure I know where it was in the magic sculpt cross pieces. I suppose the articulated area not only allows bending, but twisting as well.
I am a little slow on the up take with this sculpt for some reason. I can usually envision what you are about to do or at least understand it afterward, but on this one I keep getting lost and have been having no end of trouble trying to understand the dynamics especially with the areas of articulation. I guess it is a good thing that you are the sculptor and not me.
Pam
Hey, Pam – it is so confusing because I change things, lol – discard parts that already made and start again. The chest cross and hip bead are separate parts – they will be connected by the cord. The top part of the belly will be a ball, the lower part of the chest will be a round socket – just like in the head and neck ball joint Yes, that ball will allow bending and twisting. Well, all this might change as I am experimenting, so don’t feel bad – it is not like everything is clear to me either Thank you for watching
You motivate me to set all my store work aside and put at least an hour into the doll
Hello, I have to say how inspired I am by your work and also by your selflessness in sharing your thoughts and techniques. I have just read about your mishap when the clay stuck to the glass and I’m curious if you have ever used a “ceramic fiber blanket”. It is used in kilns to support pieces while they are being fired, glass blowers also use it. It’s soft, thick, can withstand very high tempatures, reuseable, relatively inexpensive and you can buy it on Ebay.
Natasha
Thank-you so very much for sharing the process. I am working on sculpting a ball jointed doll also.Im using both the yoshida book and Martha Armsatrong hands book and everything I can learn on the web. Im sculpting in prosculpt and puppen fimo . some super sculpy too. Your hard work is excellent. I have made my dolls in porcelain and made all my own molds. the dolls were on the average 20 to 36 inches tall. Im working on a smaller scale now because I dont want to lift those heavy molds anymore. Im following you rposts everyday and trying to work out the mechanics/engineering the ball jointed joints to do what I want them to do.
IS eveyone here on “The Joint” as well. Im planning a blogspot and website.soon.
I would like to talk with all the dollmakers sculpting ball jointed dolls.
patricia
My pleasure, Patricia! Would love to see your work when your blog or website is up and running – thank you very much for checking my first attempts out!
http://mstrok.ucoz.ru/publ/69-1-0-292
Natasha,
Look at this link6 may be it give you more ideas.
I
Wow Nat,
That is cool. I especially like the hands & feet, as I have really never seen how you do them. I am glad I finally have seen how you set up the hands and feet, I had wondered how your hands could be strong enough to keep the fingers from breaking easily.
I was intrigued with your ball joint idea and had never really thought about the mechanics of it, but it is really just like the old spool dolls that are strung together with beads (large wooden for head and smaller for joints) and spools for the body (larger) & bones (smaller) of arms & legs. Then strung altogether with string. I hadn’t thought about them being a basic foundation for the ball jointed doll. As I was looking at the first pics I was trying to figure out how you got it to bend, but once I realized how it was set up I remembered the spool dolls I used to make as a kid & then with my daughter & nieces as an adult. I can’t wait to see what you will do with this.
Pam
thank you, Marina, – it is a great link!
Pam, what you are describing sounds very close.
This one will be all about trial and error. The ball-joint idea is not mine, lol, BJD are all over the internet – they are mass produced. However, there are many artists who work in this field – making one of a kind BJD – that is the one I am interested in, but in polymer clay, not air-dry clay.
thank you for watching – will be back tomorrow.
OMG, Natasha, I’ve been talking about learning how to make a bjd. I check in on your blog and voila! there it is!
If you look at my facebook page, you’ll see an ongoing conversation I had with several other artists about Marina and her wonderful dolls. We have been so excited for Marina, selling Lily for $40K! That’s wonderful and her dolls are worth it! So beautiful. Her website also shows how she makes the dolls and the measurements and how they are strung. She uses small steel springs. I’m going to have a hand at it too and can’t wait for your adventure. Maybe we can figure this thing out together! LOL You are so good at this type of engineering problem, you will have it done and made before I can even finish reading about making one! LOL
Natasha,
The head looks pretty good to me. I was about to say that I am not sure I understand what you mean about the neck ball being too close to the chin, then I looked at it again and realized what you mean. It probably needs to be a bit farther back, huh? Having not really looked at other BJD’s, I am not versed in where they should be positioned. Although, thinking of how my own neck/head are aligned for movement, I think the ball would not only be a bit farther back, but also a bit deeper into the head. I am not sure that makes any sense or that it will work for the BJD, but behind the jaw a little is where my head/neck seem to articulate. Also, the bottom edge of the ball seems like it would be about even with the jaw line, what do you think? Does that sound about right? Try looking in the mirror and move your head in ways that you expect the BJD’s head to move and see where the areas of movement are in your own neck. I was just doing it at the computer and feeling around my neck area to estimate where the ball might sit.
I know you will figure it out, you always do. I hope that this helps a little. Keep up the wonderful process, & I will keep watching & tell you how great you are doing.
Pam
I just bought the book myself, but I ordered from a webshop in Japan. Saved me a lot of money! I am following your work. It is very inspirational. Keep up the good work. Hope the weather is ok in your part of the world. Kindly frpm Ann
Karen, thank you – what is your facebook page – let me know so that I can link to it. I agree Marina’s dolls are a wonder!
Keeping up! 
thank you for watching! 
The weather is still cold, snow on the ground, but just a little bit 
Pam – thank you – yep, that was also a problem – about the neck – yesterday’s head was a disaster – folded already
Thank you, Ann!
Hi, Natasha. I’ll send you a private message. I really love what you have done so far. The face is perfect. This is going to be a beautiful doll, I just know it.
I am so thankful that you are so willing to share your adventures with us. It’s so inspiring.
Thank you, Karen!
I am glad it is interesting to people 
Hello Natasha,
What a generous spirit you are!! I came across your eBay store quite by accident about a month ago while looking for mohair. I was totally amazed at the wealth of information you are sharing with people via your blog. I am a porcelain artist, and have been for more than 30 years. In the 1990′s I discovered poly clay and took all of Jack Johnston’s seminars. It was so liberating as an artist to be able to sculpt a character in one step and not have to worry about sculpting a clay model ever mindful of undercuts, and then go through the mold making process. I became discouraged however with all of the moonies, burning, broken fingers, etc. that kept happening. I felt like it was ME and not the sculpting process that was at fault. Not wanting to sell a product I wasn’t 100% sure was perfect, I went back to porcelain.
I learned more about working with clay from your blogs than I ever did in the Johnston seminars! I’ve learned about so many new (to me) products that make the whole pre-sculpting process easier and more dependable. The fact that all of the products you use are available in your ebay store is also great.
It is so true that one learns from one’s mistakes. But how nice it is to learn from someone elses mistakes! and not have to go through the whole process a thousand times before finally “getting it”. So thank you for not only showing the how to do it…but the how NOT to do it! Most artists would never consider showing their mistakes….a GREAT artist would.
I will continue working in porcelain but will now begin to again sculpt in clay…thanks to you.
Your blog is like a soap opera…can’t wait for the next installment each day to see your progress and learn a new process in the creation of a new little character.
Your BJD project is VERY interesting. What a gutsy thing to do!! Thank you so very much for bringing us along with you on your journey of artistic discovery…warts and all!
Kay
Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Kay!
What a great supportive inspiring message – BIG thank you!
Sorry to hear about your Magic Sculpt/oven near disaster. I quite understand the “never do that again” attitude. It can be infuriating when you do something that you know better than doing, but either you are side tracked or in some kind of funk or just not paying attention to what you are doing until something like your oven adhering trouble and you vow to forever pay attention and not do that again. For those of us who are smart enough to actually not do it again it is a learning experience. Fortunately you have discovered how to adhere Magic sculpt in a nearly permanent way to your glass oven. So, now if you ever want to do something similar on purpose you know just how to do it. I always look on the bright side. You may want to make a sculpt that is a fixed to some oven tempered glass and now you can.
Pam
lol, thank you Pam, – that is a good way to look at it. yes, magic sculpt is a beast – it will adhere to anything.
I am catching up on the inventory – not sculpting – Brandon (my help) and I are making things – cutting fur, making samples, organizing the shelves and packing-shipping of course. The sales picked up after the new year and things got busier. The two power outages since the beginning of the year sent me to buy a generator – I got it, a good one – it is set up and ready to go for the next time. Thank you, sweetheart – I hope to continue with BJD tomorrow>
Just to clarify the statement, “For those of us who are smart enough …” I don’t want anyone to think that I was stating that you are not one of those smart enough, I figured it was pretty obvious that you are in the smart enough group. I just want to be sure that no one takes offense in the way I stated it.
and not the icon version you have in your posts. So, give up the secret, please!
I take it you have to make a new chest cross for your doll. I am sure it will be better than the last one and at least you know it will not stick to the oven this time.
On a completely different line of thought, how do you accomplish the smiley faces in your posts? I have tried the usual ways, but only got the original colon right parentheses
Not that I like them overly much, but they look much better than the old fashion one I have to use. Thanks in advance, please!
Pam
Yes, I made the new chest cross and also the hip triangle – check it out – I just put the picture up. Looks freaky, but I am pretty sure it will work – see the outline on the proportions printout underneath.
Your smiley look like little faces to me, exactly like mine – no secret – I just put the colon and braket, like you do, my browser makes them look this way – on your posts as well.
It would work since I was begging. It didn’t work the last time I tried it on the Little shopper page.
So you aren’t going to have it be articulated between the chest and belly? Or did I miss something? I still haven’t really grasped what you described with the hands, but I am trying.
I like what you have done with the body
Pam
I finally got the strings in the hand. Somehow I missed the word armature when I was reading what you wrote.
So from the body sculpt it looks like you do have an area of articulation between the chest and belly, but I am not sure I know where it was in the magic sculpt cross pieces. I suppose the articulated area not only allows bending, but twisting as well.
I am a little slow on the up take with this sculpt for some reason. I can usually envision what you are about to do or at least understand it afterward, but on this one I keep getting lost and have been having no end of trouble trying to understand the dynamics especially with the areas of articulation. I guess it is a good thing that you are the sculptor and not me.
Pam
Hey, Pam – it is so confusing because I change things, lol – discard parts that already made and start again. The chest cross and hip bead are separate parts – they will be connected by the cord. The top part of the belly will be a ball, the lower part of the chest will be a round socket – just like in the head and neck ball joint
Yes, that ball will allow bending and twisting. Well, all this might change as I am experimenting, so don’t feel bad – it is not like everything is clear to me either 
Thank you for watching 
You motivate me to set all my store work aside and put at least an hour into the doll
[...] Morezmore #25Ball-Jointed Doll (BJD): Figuring Out The Mechanics. Part 1*** [...]
Hello, I have to say how inspired I am by your work and also by your selflessness in sharing your thoughts and techniques. I have just read about your mishap when the clay stuck to the glass and I’m curious if you have ever used a “ceramic fiber blanket”. It is used in kilns to support pieces while they are being fired, glass blowers also use it. It’s soft, thick, can withstand very high tempatures, reuseable, relatively inexpensive and you can buy it on Ebay.
Thank you, Cindy!
That is a very good idea! 
thank you for sharing
Natasha
Thank-you so very much for sharing the process. I am working on sculpting a ball jointed doll also.Im using both the yoshida book and Martha Armsatrong hands book and everything I can learn on the web. Im sculpting in prosculpt and puppen fimo . some super sculpy too. Your hard work is excellent. I have made my dolls in porcelain and made all my own molds. the dolls were on the average 20 to 36 inches tall. Im working on a smaller scale now because I dont want to lift those heavy molds anymore. Im following you rposts everyday and trying to work out the mechanics/engineering the ball jointed joints to do what I want them to do.
IS eveyone here on “The Joint” as well. Im planning a blogspot and website.soon.
I would like to talk with all the dollmakers sculpting ball jointed dolls.
patricia
eveyone feel free to write to me at patriciadoll2010 at aol dot com
My pleasure, Patricia!
Would love to see your work when your blog or website is up and running – thank you very much for checking my first attempts out! 
I am a new designer, at 70..lol
)
I am sooooo in love with your blog, website, tutorials, and ebay
Annemarie sent me your link…bless her heart !!!!!
I am so happy to hear it – thank you for wonderful uplifting message!