Traditional - blog topic 4

Using clay to make a bust of a life model was challenging but I learnt a lot during the process. Firstly, I found that using a small scale was difficult as it was tougher to create the smaller and finer details, e.g. the eyelids, and the nostrils. However, I think that my overall form of the human head was accurate to an extent. I measured the eyes to ensure that five lengths of the eye would fit across the width of the head, signalling good proportions in this area. I learnt that it was easier to add gradual volume to the form of the head rather than reduce it, as I could be more precise and accurate. Using the clay tools made the detailing a lot more successful, such as around the eyes and creating the shape of the lips. Initially I was only using my fingers to make details, which resulted in a rougher and less defined appearance, but as my sculpt progressed I learnt that it would benefit from the use of tools.

I applied all I had learnt about the proportions of the head from three different dimensions. Doing the skull drawings from the week before helped me to recognise the forms of the skull whilst sculpting, and therefore allowed me to more accurately represent the life model. I think that as a result, I achieved quite a strong sense of likeness to the model.

In the future, I would like to improve my methods of crafting extremities such as the ears. I found them difficult to define, particularly the shapes inside the ear. I will need to spend more time on this area of sculpting next. I could also improve the consistency of the round areas of the head. Parts like the forehead were round in some areas, yet flattened in others, when in reality this needed to be remedied to fit the true shape of the life model's head.

Using clay as a material allowed me to make many changes easily during the process, but after a while I found it would dry out or some parts would fall off such as the ears. Therefore I would like to implement the use of scoring and wetting the clay whilst adding on parts. Despite this, clay has shown to be a versatile material.

Final clay bust from different angles: