Making a head portrait in clay (modeling phase)

(Welcome and step in to the art class room)




1 Drawing on the model-stick where you start building up the stone clay on.
Its a wood model who you can build what size you want depending on how large model head you are going to do, but remember it have to be Abel to hold pretty much weight (normal head around 20 kg weet clay).
2 Here you take news papers and wrap it around the top of the stick. The newspaper have bean wet in water first. Then hold it tight by steal thread around it.
3. Start to build up a head form with the clay with small peace's of it in the directions the drawing shows you around the whole stick.
4 Build it tight as a shape of a head
5. Cep building with small peace's of clay, pressed in by the thumb and press out the air who might be in the clay if there is air bobble's in the clay it can crack in the oven later on so try to press the air in the clay out in the same time you put it on. Build Until you start to have a 3D model of a head.






Mold the head by looking at your model real close, turn around put on clay or take away, its important to real study your model in every angel.
( Yes its me on the photo, and the clay model a classmate are making of me)



Look at the lines compare and study the model and the lines, don´t be afraid to feel with your hands on the model face even.




When the head model is done its time for a scary moment and that's to cut the head in 2




Next step is to carve the head out, it have to be done so the clay have same thickness overall so it dry up even. About 2 cm thick is OK for this size of a head.




(Leftovers from the inside, looks like the brain ;) J/K)


Then when that's done you have the prepare the edges so you can "Glue" it together and become a whole head again. To prepare the edges you can take a fork to rub up the edges so the slickers can have something to hold on to. (Slickers is the clay glue, dry clay smashed to small powder, and blend with water to a buttermilk masse).








The slickers puts on with a brush



Fit the 2 half together and mold it back.

Now it have to dry for a week or 2 for the first phace of burning, but that's another story ..
Will come back to the burning phase later :)

http://reneblom.com
//nenne