Process of Project
Materials List
Scrap wood
Screws
Newspaper
Masking Tape
Clay (I use Continental Clay Buff Stoneware LINK)
Clay tools
Glazes
- Screw together armature pieces, wide and long for the bottom, and long and skinny on top (see below image)
- Start with a theme for the students to research and sketch. Themes help give the students a place to start.
- Themes I've used:
- Monsters
- Extreme Faces (Snapchat faces)
- Anthropomorphic Creatures
- Students create a series of sketches
- Front
- Back
- Side
- Consider what is an add on, and what is attached
- Add ons
- Horns
- Ears
- Eyelids
- Lips
- Eyeballs (etc)
- Attached
- Nose
- Mouth
- Cheekbones
- Begin building on the armature
- Armatures are two pieces of scrap wood screwed together.
- The longer the top piece is the taller/bigger that the pieces will be.
- Add a layer of newspaper wrapped around the pole, but DON'T TAPE IT TO THE ARMATURE.
- Use tape to put loose wads of newspaper into the general form of the bust. Do not tape the whole thing all over. It will be impossible to remove at the end.
- Shoulders
- Neck
- Head
- Attached features
- Roll out slabs of clay and begin building from the bottom up.
- Slip & Score EVERYTHING together
- Attach add on features
- Horns
- Ears
- Eyelids
- Lips
- Eyeballs (etc)
- To create clay realistic eyes see video here
- LINK (IN PROGRESS)
- Add texture to the clay as needed
- Let dry to not QUITE leather hard
- Remove armature and newspaper
- You CAN leave newspaper in there to burn off- BUT it could cause issues with carbon build up in the kiln and that gives you less life in the kiln elements. I usually try to pull out as MUCH as possible.
- Let dry until BONE DRY
- This usually takes AT LEAST a week or more.
- Bisque Fire- SLOWLY
- Put in the kiln GENTLY (I have broken a piece because I wasn't as careful as I should have been, and my projects tend to be HUGE. 1-2 pieces per kiln load!)
- I usually candle the pieces for 12 hours before the firing process to ensure all the moisture is out.
- FIRE SLOWLY
- I fire to Cone 08 for bisque
- Glaze
- Link to creating REALISTIC looking eyes with glaze
- LINK (IN PROGRESS)
- Glaze Fire
- DONE! Display!!!
LINKS
https://www.stanwinstonschool.com/tutorials/human-head-anatomy-sculpture
https://www.facebook.com/MichaelJDennisArt/
https://www.facebook.com/Art-Blaze-285046224932849/
https://www.facebook.com/nhhsartroom/
PROCESS (PROCESS FOLDER)
(FINISHED PROJECTS FOLDER)
Finished Pieces
My students wanted to add eyelashes, hair etc as a final touch. It was AMAZING to do this!
