Work in progress

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.