Our third project for Art in Practice was a contemporary sculpture project focusing on portraiture. We began the project with a wooden plinth and a large slab of clay, I approached this project with a lot of fluidity and tried to start sculpting whilst ignoring a lot of detail and instead just proportional shape. I used images of myself from different angles as a rough reference but I was not overly focused on creating it exactly.
I believe that my first attempt at this sculpture went positively, I struggled to grasp the shape and proportion of the side profile and I struggled to create depth when sculpting the eyes.
Using the same clay, I resculpt the head into a more expressive pose, trying to create the lines and crevices of a squinting face. I found there to be a lot more depth when sculpting a slightly more dramatic pose like squinting than when just sculpting a relaxed face. I again struggled with the side profile, finding it hard to sculpt the mass of the cheeks in a way that looked proportionally correct from the front and side.
The following week, we had a casting workshop, so I used my sculpted head and created a cast mould from it. The process of this was informative and fun and began by creating an edge around the head which would both determine the depth of the cast and would catch the liquid. This wall edge was built in front of the ears to ensure the mould wouldn’t get stuck anywhere on the clay.
The liquid was poured on in roughly 5 layers, we would spread and smooth the liquid over the head after each layer. Whilst the casting fluid was still soft, you can start to carve into it, reestablishing the detail that was on the clay head.
After the cast was completely dried, the clay wall edge we attached was pulled off, exposing where the cast and clay meet, meaning you can start slowly moving it off. To ensure the cast came off and the clay head remained one, the whole head was submerged in water, loosening the two apart. Once I removed the cast of the head I could see that my clay head was undamaged.
I decided for my final sculpture that I wanted to create something more playful, I was inspired by the idea of creating a character, which I made up as I began sculpting. I also experimented with creating a head that was actually a jug. Sculpting like this was a lot of fun, I enjoyed not having to create proportionally correct features and instead playing with sculpting a larger nose, long beard and a flat head
I was inspired by the idea of my interest in character illustration and creating that in a 3D element.
Artist inspiration:
Mooniq Priem
Jordu – Schell Sculpture Studio
Ron Free
Dave Zackin
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