Wk 19
Creating Another Bust
I decided to take Sean up on his offer to use up some old porcelain/crank mix to try my hand at making another bust, unfortunately due to Work calling me in to cover extra shifts I lost valuable days of working time for me to get it in a state I was happy with. When it did get bisque fired it was so far from how I wanted it to turn out so I decided to take a look at things from a different perspective, looking back on the quote that started it all, and decided that I would keep working but with a more relaxed approach and just see what happened -
“If I any pattern could sum me up, it’d have to be paisley”
Clay-re - Glazed Porcelain and Gold Ink
For me, although far from my most technical or refined pieces of work, is definitely a big step in a more confident direction within my practice. Whereas I would have probably scrapped the piece before the initial firing last semester I decided to take on the advice of my advisors and incorporate my sketchbook practice into my “final pieces”, having a more organic process and generally just enjoying it all a lot more.
The comments by Drawing Tutor Alex Roberts especially took my notice as she had pointed out some of my life drawings and made comments that many of them had more vitality and character than my final paintings and that I should try doing more finished works from life rather than a photo (as I did with this bust) or where that isn’t possible, sculpting or painting from drawings taken from photographs in order to help me translate forms better - this is a trick used by many of the old master painters when they couldn’t have a model sit for them for hours on end and they learned to develop some of the most beautifully formed sketches that can be seen translated into paintings at a later date. This is something I’ll be incorporating into my work much much more, even just the simple act of drawing still lives from life to get into the habit. It makes me really excited to think about my practice in this way.
I also want to take the time to make busts properly and in a way that is less time consuming, perhaps using callipers and other measuring tools, taking more regular breaks or working at eye level could work but more than this - having a good internal structure would make my life so much easier as I wouldn’t be spending hours hollowing out and reattaching elements of the head which is jeopardising the structure of the piece.
Next Steps
I’ve signed up for another Domestika course, this time a bust making course by Cristina Córdova (2023) where she uses stencils to create the basic shape and then builds upon that (rather than a hollow out technique) Below shows how far I managed to get without a heat gun and a limited time frame. I definitely think this slab-building technique has potential if I want to take up bust making more regularly but it’s not as organic as my usual working style.
I have a feeling, much like learning to take up life drawing for the first time, this is something that will come with practice and exposure I do think there’s an interesting dynamic when adding patterns onto ceramics and my final clay-re bust does have a traditional Japanese kintsugi effect.
Reference List
Cordova, C. (2023) ‘About’ CRISTINA CÓRDOVA. Available at: https://www.cristinacordova.com/about (Accessed: 24 April 2023)
Cordova, C. (2023) ‘Introduction to Clay Figurative Sculpture’ Domestika. Available at: https://www.domestika.org/en/courses/3145-introduction-to-clay-figurative-sculpture (Accessed: 24 April 2023)