We're newbies at this and my son is trying to make a tall, skinny tree. I was afraid that the polymer clay would not be enough and suggested he bake it with a wire inside it. Will that work? Thanks!

Sure Amy, he can bake the tree with the wire inside and it should turn out fine. In fact this is a good idea to create a structural support for the piece. I use it when sculpting animals, such as a giraffe, so I could make a wire metal skeleton and use that for extra support. 6 guage uncoated copper wire from the home builder's store works for the thick sections and cloth covered floral wire for the finer skeleton details.

Excellent--thanks, DTollison! My son is waiting with baited breath for an answer, as he is anxious to begin making his props with his "newfound" polymer clay. He has a passion for stop-motion animation and wants permanent clay props that won't get damaged and will hold up under gravity. He's off and running already...

I appreciate your taking the time to respond!

Post a pic of the tree when it's done we'd love to see how it turned out.