Sketching in clay to warm up or study

Most people think of pencils when they think of sketching, however you can sketch 3d too. It's really cold and snowy so I didn't want to drive to my cold studio today so I grabbed what I had handy to do a little clay sketching as a warm up before getting to work today. This study was sculpted using Chavant Clayette Soft and as most of my tools are at the shop I used a flat stick and an old paintbrush and of course, my hands.

The great thing about 3d sketching is that is warms you up, allows you to work on problems and you can leave it on a shelf to reflect on for future works or recycle the clay and make something else. It is the act of the motion, the thought that was the journey and reward - the destination and final results aren't important. That's the beauty of sketching!

This is a great way to loosed yourself up and allow you explore without the commitment of a full piece of work and no worries about whether you are creating something wonderful or ruining things by making changes....you know that it temporary and can let go of the anxiety - something you can't always do if you are working.
I enjoyed this 30-45 minute study - it gave me time to reflect on the forms without over-thinking things and I realize how much I miss the freedom of that. Note to self- take more time for these sketches and warmups - it just may be the faster road to improvement of your work.