• First make a sculpting surface that is a little bigger than the base of your sculpture will be. You can use any scrap wood or MDF- make sure its flat.
• Add onto the bottom 4 legs. These can be also be made from blocks of scrap wood. (The space under the surface is needed for the anchoring bolt(s).)
• Then drill holes the same diameter as your hardware in the surface where you want to anchor your armature. For example - if you are sculpting a standing horse, you will need 4 holes, one for each leg. If you are sculpting a flower you may only need one in the surface. You can reuse the board over and over - using the same holes or making new ones.

• Depending on the size of your piece - choose the correct size hardware. I usually use 1/4 in and my pieces are generally not more than 24 in tall.

• Poke the bolts through the holes from the bottom. Put on a washer and thread on the coupler.
• Make sure your bolt doesn't come through the coupler - you want to leave about 1/2 of the coupler empty to receive the threaded rod.
• If the bolt comes to far up - use a shorter bolt or make small adjustments by adding washers onto the bolt under the surface.

• This is what the anchor looks like on top of the sculpting surface when you are done. Make sure that you tighten the bolt from the bottom so that the anchor is secure and does not wiggle.
• From here you can start to add pieces of wire and styrofoam to make your armature and bulk up your form.

TIPS

• It is also a good idea - before you start sculpting - to add a sheet of hardware cloth between the washer and the coupler - to reinforce the bottom of your sculpture. Once you have built up the bottom - bend the cloth up along the edges of your sculpture and build them in.
• Depending on what you have made your sculpting surface out of (laminated sink cut-outs left over from countertop production work great! And you don't need to release them!) you may want to apply a thin coat of release (vaseline or wax) to keep your sculpture from sticking to the surface. Sometimes I cover the sculpting surface with a plastic bag taped taunt to the bottom of the surface before I threat in my anchor. That keeps it clean and creates a release at the same time.
• When you are finished with you sculpture, simply unscrew the bolt from underneath and finish off the bottom of your sculpture. You can use the embedded threaded couplers to attached your sculpture to a base (just as you attached it to the sculpting surface) or you can fill in the holes if you are not going to mount your piece.
• This anchoring technique can be used for 3D Mosaic pieces as well as sculptures. We also carry pre-made figure and animal armatures which can also be used to make 3D mosaic forms. They are anchored to the sculpting surface in a different way, however, but could be combined with with technique.