Awesome job mate.
Just thinking out loud, but i think you can get a mesh {think like matting in fibreglass} designed to hold the clay {at the same refactory suppliers} that you might find holds it together better than the wire.
Very, very impressive what you have achieved. Now comes the really therapeutic part of heating something super hot and beating the crap out of it with a hammer so that all that is left is a knife or razor. :D
Adam