Still figuring out the bases for a bunch of sculptures, received two big boxes of wood from the "Old man from the Mountain" at www.ucrwood.net , and here's a look at a sculpture in progress.
Here's a look at some pots I've been throwing and adding some sculpture to. I love putting legs on the pots and giving them some character. I guess working in animation for so many years has given me a desire to see things move or at least look as if they could move.
This piece in progress shows two little helpful things I've learned to aid in sculpting. First is the support system. The figure is hollow and the clay is wet and heavy. The large clump of clay attached to the side of the figure aids in giving stability since the wall of the figure is too thin to give much support, especially in this wet state. I'll just carve it off when the figure is almost complete and can support itself. Some people use newspaper inside the figure, and let it burn out in the firing, I prefer working this way for a number of reasons. The second simple thing is to use a piece of canvas under the sculpture. This way the clay doesn't stick to the board. I've tried sand which works well, but then you have sand imbedded in the clay in the bottom of your sculpture, and when you work on a wood base it warps, and warps your sculpture along with it.
These are my shoes. There's just something about a good old beaten up pair of shoes. I don't know how much time they have left, but know I will miss them when they're gone. I like the image that they conjure up in my mind. The image of a hard working craftsman who's priorities are obviously focused on work instead of being in style. Or of a crazy slightly off artist, who's work he is constantly at odds with, and takes to drinking absinth at night in order to find some relief, or maybe aid in finding some answers.
When your working for yourself, I think it helps to set goals and deadlines. Otherwise you can spend too much time tinkering when you should be finishing up, and moving on to your next idea. That's what I did here, a challenge to myself to complete 30 sculptures in 60 days. I recommend it to everyone, I learned a great deal along the way, and got some pretty good work done. You can see them completed on my website at New Works.
Here's a progression from wet clay, to glazed, and then after the final firing. This piece is called a heavy weight. I like that the piece and the title suggests many things to me. The dark color I chose for the glaze seems appropriate also. I think I've written more about this piece on my website if your interested. A Heavy Weight
This is from a sculpture called kiss the donkey, you can see it on my website. I've always loved patterns in art , Gustav Klimt is one of my favorite artist because of the way he would work with both the figure and beautiful patterns.
