Sculpting emotion of Loss continued

 I've been inundated with publishing deadlines, so haven't had much time for sculpting. I've finished with blocking in the forms and establishing the figure. Before I go too much further, I need to determine the flow of the hair and dress.

When I work on a sculpt, it is very important to me that all the parts work in agreement. In my tiny maquette of this, the dress was fairly still and the hair was blowing away from the face, however as I work on this I'm leaning more towards the hair and dress blowing forward and whipping around and past her face. This will cast some shadows and obscure her face a bit however I think the effect will be one of loneliness and a feeling of being enveloped and overwhelmed - which, to me, is how loss feels.

So - I will refine her forms and her face before putting on the dress and hair, but this gives me a better idea of things. Next I will cut off the hair, dress and arms. The hands are next on the agenda and will be difficult to do. Once I've finished the arms and hands and re-attached, it will be time to sculpt the hair, dress and sandals - the zen icing on the cake in terms of working and I'm really looking forward to that part. I'm sure I'll be playing a lot of quiet cello music on my Pandora when getting to those nuances - the mood must all match...

CT3 Water-based clay over a wire armature to be made into bronze.

Ecorche - anatomy study of muscles in clay

 I'm continuing with my self-study, refresher of anatomy. This 1/2 life sized sculpture is being created by layering on the clay as muscles. As I work on the piece, I'm considering the role of the muscle - how round or flat is it? What is the function of the muscle and how does it effect the surface shapes when flexed?

Yes, this is a tedious exercise - and well worth every minute. It's so tempting to stop and go to surface forms, but that would defeat the purpose. Forcing yourself to really place the muscle, with it's origins and insertions, leads to greater understanding of the body....and understanding the body frees you to sculpt with confidence.


Jmac classic clay medium.

The page-turner - maquette (clay sketch)

I created a new maquette, or clay sketch, today. This little bust has been quickly fleshed out in Jmac Classic Clay and measures about 6" from top of head to bent elbow.

The general inspiration was my daughter, a confirmed bookworm and talented writer. She often looses herself for hours at a time in her books, sometimes absently fiddling with her necklace while absorbed in the story.

The sketch is a quick gesture and I'm in love with pose already. I'll refine this a tad more just because I really want to - I may even take the sketch to bronze in this state before working on it again in a larger size for a more finished version.

The working title for this new sculpture is "The page-turner".