I use something called the extended pinch method which is where you take a little bit of clay and you make a rough ball and put it behind where you are working on your clay and then pinch it right into the wall. It's a fairly fast way to build a form.
First, I make small studies. This is a time of generating ideas and finding the forms. Using the clay maquette as a guide, I make an armature of steel, as I did for the life-size Yin and Yang figures (left), or of perlite-stuffed hose, as for Barkley (see Making Barkley), or I may build the piece hollow, as I did for Storyteller (read Anne Telford's article).
Clay remains workable as long as I spray it often with water and cover the pieces with damp cloths and plastic. If the sculpture will be bronze, a mould is made of the finished clay. If fired ceramic is the final form, patient drying is needed to prevent cracking. I glaze, paint or patina the sculpture to add colorful and protective surface.
First, I make small studies. This is a time of generating ideas and finding the forms. Using the clay maquette as a guide, I make an armature of steel, as I did for the life-size Yin and Yang figures (left), or of perlite-stuffed hose, as for Barkley (see Making Barkley), or I may build the piece hollow, as I did for Storyteller (read Anne Telford's article).
Clay remains workable as long as I spray it often with water and cover the pieces with damp cloths and plastic. If the sculpture will be bronze, a mould is made of the finished clay. If fired ceramic is the final form, patient drying is needed to prevent cracking. I glaze, paint or patina the sculpture to add colorful and protective surface.
