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Description
Terracotta clay 16", wax finish (rear view)

I've been sculpting figures for some time now, but there is always more to learn. In order to avoid sitting in a rut, I ordered a couple of books on figure sculpting, one which I have found to be an excellent help: Sculpting the Figure in Clay: An Artistic and Technical Journey to Understanding the Creative and Dynamic Forces in Figurative Sculpture by Peter Rubino ( www.amazon.com/gp/product/0823… ). This tutorial takes a very different tack to the basic construction of the figure, one which appears to have worked well.

This is the finished piece for which I posted an earlier WIP. Of course, as I continue to press toward larger pieces... that increases the technical complexity. This time, I was careful to hollow out the torso, but neglected to do the head... resulting in the face popping off (possibly due to either stress from an air pocket or trapped moisture) during the bisque fire. I was able to glue the fragments back together again, but you can still see some cracks through the face.

I chose, this time, to finish with polish, since I couldn't re-fire, due to the glued pieces. It was a challenge getting in some tight corners, but I think the final finish works well.

Description
Terracotta clay 16", wax finish (rear view)

I've been sculpting figures for some time now, but there is always more to learn. In order to avoid sitting in a rut, I ordered a couple of books on figure sculpting, one which I have found to be an excellent help: Sculpting the Figure in Clay: An Artistic and Technical Journey to Understanding the Creative and Dynamic Forces in Figurative Sculpture by Peter Rubino ( www.amazon.com/gp/product/0823… ). This tutorial takes a very different tack to the basic construction of the figure, one which appears to have worked well.

This is the finished piece for which I posted an earlier WIP. Of course, as I continue to press toward larger pieces... that increases the technical complexity. This time, I was careful to hollow out the torso, but neglected to do the head... resulting in the face popping off (possibly due to either stress from an air pocket or trapped moisture) during the bisque fire. I was able to glue the fragments back together again, but you can still see some cracks through the face.

I chose, this time, to finish with polish, since I couldn't re-fire, due to the glued pieces. It was a challenge getting in some tight corners, but I think the final finish works well.