Just a note to say that I haven't given up again, I've just been in the midst of moving, and haven't had much time or energy to actually update. I have, however been doing some sketches, and am actually working on a small sculpted piece (more on that in a bit). I've also had some great ideas for some series pieces, but those will wait until after the holidays, I think. Also, prints of the Bad Girls of Gotham will be possible soon, I just need a really high res image to print from.
So this is a first attempt at a small relief piece I'm working on, part of a diptych. It's my first foray into Sculpey as a sculpting medium.
I started with the sketch and cut a flat pressed piece of clay as the base to build up from, adding the bulk as I worked up around the face. Being that the only tool I had in reach (still unpacking) was the letter opener pictured above, I was having a hard time getting the relief of the face right. After about six hours (nearly 80% done), it became clear that the project was doomed, as I was moving it around too much and had dug too far into the clay and weakened the support. The thing literally started cracking all over.
I started again the next morning from scratch. I decided to do things a bit differently. This time I pressed the clay much thicker, and built the upper layers up from there. I was also able to dig into the piece to bring out the face and not worry about coming out the backside. So far, this one seems a lot more stable, so that is a plus. I also noticed that in the first attempt, I had allowed the overall shape to lengthen, so I consciously tried to stop that here. The plan with this is to eventually create a mold so that I can cast copies, but we'll see how that goes. I was originally going to cast it in plastic so I can paint it, but I might also make a plaster mold to use it as a ceramic template.This would look good in a white sculpture base with a nice glaze.
Anyway, thanks for reading. More updates soon (I've decided I need to do a new self portrait)!
I started with the sketch and cut a flat pressed piece of clay as the base to build up from, adding the bulk as I worked up around the face. Being that the only tool I had in reach (still unpacking) was the letter opener pictured above, I was having a hard time getting the relief of the face right. After about six hours (nearly 80% done), it became clear that the project was doomed, as I was moving it around too much and had dug too far into the clay and weakened the support. The thing literally started cracking all over.
I started again the next morning from scratch. I decided to do things a bit differently. This time I pressed the clay much thicker, and built the upper layers up from there. I was also able to dig into the piece to bring out the face and not worry about coming out the backside. So far, this one seems a lot more stable, so that is a plus. I also noticed that in the first attempt, I had allowed the overall shape to lengthen, so I consciously tried to stop that here. The plan with this is to eventually create a mold so that I can cast copies, but we'll see how that goes. I was originally going to cast it in plastic so I can paint it, but I might also make a plaster mold to use it as a ceramic template.This would look good in a white sculpture base with a nice glaze.
Anyway, thanks for reading. More updates soon (I've decided I need to do a new self portrait)!
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