How do I make things, Practically?

How did we get here?

As I talked about in my previous blog, all sculptures start with a vision in my mind. How this plays out in reality is the next question to address:

Ways of Making Sculpture

There are different ways to approach making sculpture, the main ones being:

To take away: Carving a hard material like stone or wood.
To build up: Modelling in a soft material to build a form.
Construction: Putting together existing materials, such as wire or found objects.

How I do it

I primarily use the second method, and work by building up form using soft modelling materials. Clay is ubiquitous and lovely to work with, but on a small scale it tends to dry and crack off the sculpture unless it is left wrapped-up. Then thin shapes can wash away when you try to re-hydrate it. I like to be able to see the whole series that I am working on unwrapped, and so I favour using wax-based materials, which can be left open in whatever stage they are at.

More about Wax

There are different types of wax and related materials; some are pure or blended waxes, some are filled waxes, (meaning that they also contain particles in suspension,) and some are hybrid mixes of wax, oils and dust. I mainly use Scopas White Modelling wax, and Chevant soft-grade Plastiline. Plastiline is very similar to plasticine, which I have also used, but it is capable of higher resolution modelling, meaning that I can be more accurate.

Modelling the Sculpture

As anyone who has tried to make something in plasticine will know, the forms can tend to slump if they are expected to stand unaided. Because of this I first make an armature, which is a wire frame in a generally skeletal shape. I have to construct the armature to fit within how I imagine that the sculpture will be in the future, by working to the vision of it that I am holding in my mind. First I make the right size standing armature for the creature and then I bend it into position. This often involves my standing in that position myself to see where the limbs would go. If I am making a series then I make a template armature so that they will all consistent in size, and I bend all of the armatures at once to see how they relate together. Then I nail the armature to a board and begin to work on it.

I use softened wax to model the sculptures, building up new, mobile layers as the cooler layers harden underneath. Although right-handed, I notice that I tend to use my left hand to apply the wax and my right hand for tools. Generally I build up most of the sculpture free-hand, and then use small modelling tools to shape the wax in places that are too tight for the curvature of my fingers.

Working Process

As I am making the sculpture discrepancies arise between my original vision and how something must be worked out in reality. Also sometimes what I have made looks interesting but differs from my original understanding. In these cases I need to stop and consider which version now seems to be most accurate, and then go with that. When there seems to be no more modelling to do then that sculpture is done, and I turn my attention to others in the series.

Join me for the next instalment of these reflections in my blog in two weeks’ time.