Sculpture #1

As part of my studies, I was given a research project to undertake and I decided to use that as an opportunity to find out if I enjoyed working with clay.
As a prop maker I reckoned that it would be a great benefit if I could scuplt - in my experience so far, clay was commonly used in the props workshop to create a structure from which a mould could be cast. So i reckoned it would be wise to get the practice in as soon as possible.
My first steps were to find a book on technique, tools and of course the clay!




I made up a list of what I would like to achieve in this project.
-experience with water based clay
-oil based clay
-other types of sculpting polymer materials (sculpey/plasticine)
-an investigation into armatures (the skeletal shape that would provide a base for me to work upon)

I first wanted to challenge myself with scuplting the human head. Faces fascinate me and I thought it would be a challenge to manage to include not only accurate proportion but also an expression-make the form I create seem like it had some life in it.
I decided to start with oil based clay so I went out and bought a block of Chavant's Le Beau Touche. It was recommended as the clay used by professionals in the film industry. It has wax added into it making it easy to carve and shape, adheres to any type of armature and has a shiny smooth finish. Seemed like the best one to start with.


I also invested in a cheap set of potters tools and got my hands on a good technique book.
It might be worthwhile mentioning at this point that 'Modelling the Head in Clay' describes techniques based on waterbased clay, so I had to adapt as I went along.

The Armature

I did a little research and it seems most people weld steel rods together to aquire a base from which to sculpt. I didn't have the luxury of a welding workshop at hand so I made on out of some aluminium wire,wood and duck tape I had at home.

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The clay was very hard - quick reference to the internet told me 5 mins in the oven should soften it up a bit - also quick blasts with a hairdryer helped.
As I cut the clay into slabs and began covering the armature I realised I didn't have enough clay to cover the whole armature and create a full head and soon the clay began to slide from the armature as it had nothing to grip onto. You live and learn huh!

Once I had the face shape I just worked with it off my armature and on my knee instead (not good for the old neck muscles! but hey ho)
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I just followed the book and shaped the face according to a picture I found of an interesting girls' face on the internet.


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I just kept smoothing and shaping...


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and finally...

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Am quite pleased with the result. This was my first attempt at sculpting with clay. It took approx 8 hours in total and I managed to include a little expression. It was also interesting to sculpt something 3D whilst working from a 2D reference. I found that quite the challenge.

In conclusion, the chavant was really nice to work with. Once it had been worked into a little it became very pliable and easy to sculpt with. It could be left for any period of time and reactivated again when touched with fingers. The downside is it's quite expensive to buy a large amount of it compared to the waterbased.

Am eager to move next to my challenge of working on water based clay.