Sculpture & Multimedia Artworks
Sculpting materials that I work with can vary from ceramic clay to wool felting. The more materials I experience, the more I want to work with them and to use the techniques I learn to approach other materials in a new way.
I have used alginate and plasters to create life casts. The process made me feel like more of a chemist than anything. By using life casting I was able to more accurately visualize the forms and detailing of skin without the interruption of color or the movements of a nervous model. I reference my life casts for artwork I create in other mediums, particularly painting and drawing.
I have experience with poly-clay which have a plasticity to them and are especially good for small, detailed sculptures. Poly clay sculptures are wonderful for saving space and time since they can be relatively small and are curable at under 200 °F. I adore working with poly clay for face and figure sculpture. The level of detail can be superior to air dry clay because of the plasticity. The finished poly-clay pieces have a translucency to them and can appear to be delicate while being relatively affordable to create.
Life Casting with Alginate and Plaster
As I was learning the temperature, setting time and ratio (water to powdered alginate) I realized that certain brands resulted in more bubbles and imperfections than others. These bubbles were very interesting texture, but since my projects required smoother surfaces I ended up smoothing them down with sandpaper post drying. Around my third set of castings, I was able to secure a brand of alginite that did not result in so many bubbles. It was wonderful for capturing the skin surface, intricate and subtle details. It also turned purple once it was cured so it solved a lot of timing issues and was fun to watch!
(See Images Below) Alja-Safe Lifecasting Alginate 3-lb Box
'Shake Your Feathers Out'
This multimedia sculpture is approximately 65" long, I used a very wide variety of materials for this sculpture. Originally, I had thought to use yarn for the fountain of hair but realized early in the project that it was too thick and was not reacting to the hand sculptures in the way I needed. I Needed the hair to react much like water or sand, parting to fall through the fingers of the sculpture, revealing the pearly digits as it fell through. I was focused on contrast. Contrast in color, contrast in texture, contrast in materials. Overall this was a very successful first pass for manufacturing this concept in the material world. I will be revisiting this concept (as I do with all my projects) to push it further, experiment with new materials and create a more accurate representation of what I envisioned for this piece.
'Shake Your Feathers Out' Multimedia sculpture detail view
'Shake Your Feathers Out' Multimedia sculpture full view
(Artwork Descriptions)
'Sleep' This Sculpture was created using Polymer Clay, Fabrics, Gold Leaf and Acrylic Paints. I started with the head, This was my first attempt for sculpting a face into poly-clay. I used my hands for the most part and then moved in with clay tools to reinforce thin lines and details. I used a knitting needle to ensure the lines were clean and then further smoothed the skin with a q-tip and alcohol. Next I hand sculpted each rose and rose bud, using the tip of a pencil to hold them as I worked. This was my favorite part of the process, I loved the tiny details in the flowers, sculpting each petal made them feel so organic and the variation in the blooms was just great. The typical Poly Clay I use cures at 250°F I usually set it to be much lower to prevent burning the clay. After curing, I fixed the head and roses to a recycled canvas that I stretched over a reclaimed antique frame ( I wanted to use a substrate with antique beveled edges). I hand stitched and sculpted the dress, filling some parts with excess fabric to create the illusion of volume. The cuffs and neck were created with gathered lace trim. I was very inspired by porcelain dolls for this piece. growing up, my grandmother kept porcelain dolls in the room that I slept in, it was always eerie but eventually left a good aesthetic mark on my artist brain. I still have the porcelain doll that was in my room as a little girl.
MultiMedia Sculpture | PolyClay, fabric, gold leaf and acrylic paints
MultiMedia Sculpture | Poly Clay, fabric, gold leaf, acrylic paint, thread, faux hair
Work In Progress Photo, This piece was created in layers, each rose was hand sculpted and assembled using liquid polyclay. once the clay was cured the sculpture was adhered to the prepped canvas (stretched over a reclaimed vintage frame) and painted using acrylic paints and gesso. Acrylic Paints and gold leaf were then applied for further detailing. a fabric dress was sewn and sculpted onto the canvas.