He techniques you learned in the preceding chapter for hand-modeling pottery will stand you in good stead when you begin sculpting figures.While it is not sculpture in the purest sense of the word, you can create simple animal shapes by taking a handful of wedged sculpture clay and pressing it into an abstract form—the same as you did to get the feel of clay be­fore making your first piece of pottery.

The abstract itself should suggest a real­istic shape to you.If not, continue twisting and pressing the clay mass until it does.Then follow out the suggestion by modeling further with fingers first and then with tools if you desire.A good rule to follow when sculpting is to disregard all but the most essential detail.As often as not, slav­ish accuracy detracts from the beauty of a ceramic piece rather than adding to it.It is sound procedure to make a sketch of your model before working it in clay, striving always to keep the lines unclut­tered and clean.Keep your shapes as simple and basic as possible.

When sculpting a figure, its size will have a direct bearing on the type of clay you should use.Obviously, when modeling a large figure, the clay must be both plastic enough to shape and at the same time strong enough to hold up under its own weight.This is a minor consideration in the sculpting of smaller pieces since there will not be too much stress or weight in­volved.

Sculpting clays which are commercially prepared generally contain reinforcement ingredients to prevent cracking, warping, and to reduce the likelihood of a cave-in.Grog is the principal material added to clay for this purpose.(See the chapter on Clays.)

Coarseness of the grog depends upon the size of the figure-to-be.The larger the figure, the coarser must be the grog.The amount of grog used will also increase in a direct proportion to the size of the in­tended sculpture.As much as 50% of the clay body must be comprised of grog in an exceptionally large piece.

Before mixing grog with clay, you must first ascertain how much clay will be used to make the model.This is done by dividing the clay into sections which are small enough to be individually wedged.Each section is weighed.Then weigh out the proportionate amount of grog for each sec­tion.This will probably range between 15% and 50% by weight.The larger the figure the more grog must be added.

To make harlequin above, a hollow shape is con­structed by pinch method of adding small pieces continuously to make a wall about 1 inch thick.

Shape below is in rough-ready stage and ready for shaping.Sculptor is Anne Hossack from Canada, student at Sculptors and Ceramic Workshop.N.Y.

Small oak board handy enough to fit in your grasp is used.Basic shape of piece is fash­ioned by patting clay with a board, using enough force to develop composition.Inset is next step, working on lower half when top part is shaped.

Roll out each section of clay separately and scatter the proper amount of grog over the surface.Fold the flattened clay in half, then in quarters.Roll it out again.Continue folding and rolling until the grog is dis­tributed evenly throughout each clay sec­tion, then wedge each thoroughly.

There are several methods for sculpting a figure of solid clay.Which you use will depend a great deal upon size, shape and the fragility of the piece.

For your first sculpting project, you may hand-model a human figure about five inches tall.Begin by determining the gen­eral outline with a pencil sketch.Simplify the drawing as much as possible, dividing the figure into its most prominent and least prominent parts.The most prominent part of a peasant woman, for instance, would be her wide, billowing skirt.Second in promi­nence would be her torso, which includes two arms, a short neck and a small round head.With your pencil, draw a horizontal line at the waist, another at the neck and one more at the top of the head.If the figure is drawn to the same size as it will be modeled in clay, these lines will give you the three basic proportions of the piece.

A figure such as this will need no base, since the wide skirt can serve as a support for the model.Use clay that is very plastic, so that it can be worked easily and joined together without slip.Take a mass of clay and work it into the general shape of the peasant skirt.Do the same with the torso and attach it atop the skirt.Cut the length of a coil in two and attach one half to each side of the torso at the shoulders, to form arms.Keep them close to the body rather than having them stick out in space.Now attach an egg-shaped ball of clay for the head.

At this point you should have a crude representation of the peasant figure.It will be a bit larger than the finished sculpture will be, since you now have to carve off some clay to form a more detailed figure.Remember also that the model will shrink a bit as it dries.

Outline the skirt with a wire tool or wood modeling tool, whichever you find easier to work with.Keep turning the figure at regular intervals as you sculpt in order to get the proper three-dimensional perspective by viewing it from all angles.Gouge out valleys and rounded ridges to form the folds of the skirt.Keep these at a minimum, just enough to suggest a piece of cloth which hangs freely from the hips.

To form bottom half of sculpture.Anne Hossack uses similar procedure.Hollow ball is built for abdomen and two hollow cones shaped for the legs.

Now the leg or shaped cone is added to abdomen or ball.The joints are worked together with slip, and then knitted together by use of the fingers.

Other leg is added to the abdomen next.Again, slip is used for joining.When knitting joints together, work the thumb and forefinger together.

Oak board is used again to fashion the legs, and shape is made to correspond in harmony with the upper part of structure; planning is important.

Hexagonal hole is made in lower half, so that up­per half can be fitted in.This is called Roman Joint, will hold two pieces secure after firing.

Here is how the two pieces look when they're fit­ted together for the first time.Keep spraying device handy to sprinkle water if piece dries too fast.

Ready for decoration: engobes (colored slip) will be made now.Ingredients are weighed, placed in a moitar and pestle and then ground thoroughly.

Recipe (ratio of parts): china clay 25; ball clay 20; ground ilint 30; feldspar 17; whiting 2; mag­nesium carbonate 6.Weigh out parts accurately.

When you have finished the skirt to your own satisfaction, start to work on the torso.Score the figure along the line where the arms are held against the body.Don't bother with the fingers.Such minute detail is superfluous.Merely form the suggestion of a hand.The bosom should be repre­sented by outlining a gentle curve.

Do not be too concerned with the facial features, which will probably be painted in before firing.Just the slightest indication of nose, lips and eyes is all that is desira­ble.By placing a head scarf on the figure, you will not have to be bothered with defining the ears or hair.One final touch may be the shoes protruding a bit from beneath the skirt.

Chances are that you won't be able to complete the figure in one sitting.If this is the case, place a damp cloth over the partially finished work to keep it moist and plastic.The best place to store it be­tween work periods is in a damp box or under a crock.After it has dried to its leather-hard stage, use a small spoon or a knife to hollow it out.Maintain a wall thickness of at least a half inch.

This hollowing process can be eliminated if you wish by starting your original crude form around a wad of newspaper.There is no difference in the sculpting procedure, and when the figure is placed in the kiln for firing, the paper will burn away, auto­matically leaving the figure hollow.

After you have completed this first piece of sculpture, there is a wide diversity of subject matter and treatment available to you in your workshop.By following these same steps, you can produce portrait busts, whimsical or realistic animals and all man­ner of human figures.

Engobe has been mixed and now is scrubbed into piece thoroughly with soft bristle brush called moitler.Design will be scratched through engobe.

Scratch in design, add color for additional interest.Piece must dry before it's kiln-fired; any moisture left in the piece will make it explode during firing.

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