Head for figures 2

These busts are the second and third in the series.  I've been experimenting with a more stylised approach. The features are exaggerated.  It's probably not something that I will pursue but it was an interesting exercise.
During the construction of the second figure, the head was getting quite heavy as I added more and more clay to form the features.  I ended up cutting the head in half and scooping out clay from the inside of the head.  I find the terracotta clay is quite forgiving.  A negative aspect however is that it comes out of a bisque firing as bright orange.  I intend to use oxide washes to tone down the colour.

I find myself trying to tie these busts into my overall theme but I've been reminded that these are experiments and not to be considered as finished work for my project.

Art Festivals and such

This semester's assignment is to plan an arts biennale, a trifle really.  It seems an undo-able task but fortunately we are working as a group and the load is shared.  I heard some friends talk about Winterlude, an annual festival in Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec.  Of course, Ottawa has the advantage of having a winter with very low temperatures and consequently snow and ice, i.e. the 7.8 km Rideau Canal Skateway.  We, on the other hand, at the southern edge of the Southern Hemisphere can boast of a milder winter and the unique DARK MOFO, an arts festival that celebrates the dark - and the light - at and around the winter solstice.

Perhaps we can bring the Winterlude to our city as a prelude to DARK MOFO?  Swedish-style Ice hotel?

Rideau Canal Skateway, Ottawa

Ice Hotel - Sweden

Tow-piece moulds

Another marathon day in the Plaster Room with a few challenging moments.  I chose an aubergine (more lyrical than eggplant, surely).  A two-piece mould is needed when the model has undercuts and will not drop easily from the mould.  Two halves are constructed from plaster - with an entry point in which to pour the slip - and banded together to form the whole shape.

The aubergine was a little tricky and my cottles weren't completely secured so that when I poured the plaster in, I had a flood of plaster running off the table onto the floor.  With helping hands, disaster was averted and the second part of the mould was poured.  Fingers crossed it all works out tomorrow when I take the cottles off the mould.

I'm already thinking of ways to alter the shape when I slip cast from this mould or I could make multiples of the same shape and make a still life.  How do I support my aubergines....?  Will I leave them uncoloured and unglazed or use a water-colour effect with under-glazes.
  

More questions than answers at this stage.

A head for figures

It was so good to get back to hand-building after a few weeks in the Glaze Room doing slip work.  I took advantage of my 'fruit bowl' press-mould to make the shoulders for my newest bust. The neck was formed by wrapping a slab around a plastic beaker and the base of the head was made from a small spherical slip-casting mould.

This sculpture is a quick study as it lacks fine definition.  I plan to make several and experiment with distortion and finishing techniques.  It feels good to be working again with 
terracotta.  A bit like coming home, but hopefully with fresh ideas and a working plan towards an ever-evolving project.

Slip Casting

I was anxious to try a bit of slip casting in the drop moulds we made last week.  Sadly, the moulds were not completely dry as I found out when I poured the slip into one of them.  It took far too long to set and the results weren't pretty.  Undeterred, I found some small moulds on a shelf in the studio and tried my hand at pouring two vessels which I joined and decorated with some coloured slip work.  Perhaps I've found my calling in designing.....

Slip work just out of the moulds

Finished work

...bathroom sinks! 

Drop Mould

Another day in the Plaster Studio making a one-piece or drop mould for slip-casting.  The first step was covering my models  - pink plastic drinking cup and a glass - with mould-grease.  I filled the plastic cup with wet clay and placed it upside down on the bench and put the cottles in place with a coil of clay on the outside to prevent leakage.  For the glass, I placed it on a clay slab and pressed into the clay before pushing the cottles into the clay.   I then made up a bucket of plaster and poured around and over my models.  When the plaster was set, a shot of air released the model from the mould.

I am set for slip casting next week.  How will I decorate the surface?  I have some research to do before then.

Waiting for the plaster to set in formwork

Slip - Slab - Cracks

Oh dear, cracks have appeared in my slip slab forms, on the base.  I have made new forms today and have taken steps to avoid previous mistakes, such as :  drying on newspaper, thinner bases, scoring and slipping and covering with plastic wrap as the forms dry.  I will find out tomorrow if my efforts are successful.

Today we also made up another 25 kg of clay into slip for yet more slab work and future slip-casting.  I now have a design in mind and a plan for production.

Two sisters reading

My Two Sisters Reading figures are finished and drying.  When they are bisque-fired, I will apply oxides and under glazes.  I was not satisfied with the larger form, as pictured in a previous post.  I made alterations to the position of the head so the figure looks downward as if reading, the disembodied hand belonging to the other younger sister sharing the moment.

Slip Cast Slabwork

This week I've been working in the Glazing Studio making forms from slip-cast slabs.  Wednesday and Thursday were full of frustrations but by Friday, some of my forms were behaving and I felt more confident with the process.

The work began with making the slip from casting powder.  This was a messy and dusty process whereby 25 kg of casting powder was added to water in a large plastic bin.  This was mixed with an industrial size 'stick blender', then sieved.  We added black, blue and yellow to three separate containers.  Previously we had poured our plaster slabs in readiness for this work.  

We made patterns on the plaster slab by painting, slip trailing, dripping, sponging, etc. with the coloured slips.   The un-coloured slip was poured over this to form a slab.  The slabs took approximately 30 minutes to set.  They could then be peeled back and flipped over to reveal the pattern, much like flipping a crepe.  The slab is now ready for formwork.  After much experimentation, I found cutting simple curves or squarish shapes worked best.  By joining curves, squares or rectangles, it was possible to make a vessel into which wet slip was poured to form the base.  Timing is everything.  Too dry, the slab would crack and too wet, it would not support itself.

In the photo, you can see my forms with poured bases drying on the plaster slab.

Hump/Slump moulds

We've had a few boot camp sessions in the plaster room making hump and slump moulds.  I used plastic wrap in my first hump mould (not trusting that the plaster would come out) and consequently had folds in the plaster which had to be filled with clay before making the corresponding slump mould in plaster.  Live and learn, as they say.

I had the idea that this shape would make shoulders for my portrait busts.  I could combine mould work (shoulders) with slip-casting (neck) and hand-building (head).

Theoretical aspect

While designing and making are the 'fun' parts of this course, I find myself struggling with the theoretical side of my research.  I've been finding Freud a bit ponderous but I've discovered a tidy little book with the title of Basic Freud.  It's a very accessible introduction to Freudian thinking.  In the past, I've read some feminist theory and I would like to find a way of linking both (contrasting?) schools of thought to my work.

Work in progress

I've started work on a series of figurative sculptures.  The first two are busts of two sisters.  The figures are connected by the disembodied hand.  The hair has been changed since this photo was taken.